‘A Friend of the Family’ True Crime Series with Jake Lacy: Cast, Premiere Date, Trailer, and Everything Else We Know
Peacock adds to its true crime catalog with A Friend of the Family in October 2022 to compete with the outpouring of dramas from real-life, harrowing events. The White Lotus Emmy-nominated star Jake Lacy joins the cast as the creepy family “friend,” Robert “B” Berchtold. Writer and producer Nick Antosca jumps from the true story of Candy on Hulu to another devastating and strange crime. It’s based on the true story of Jan Broberg, who was kidnapped by a family “friend” multiple times during her adolescence. If you feel like you’ve heard this story before, it’s because you have — in Netflix’s 2019 Abducted in Plain Sight true crime documentary.
‘A Friend of the Family’ is based on the true story of Jan Broberg
The story of Jan Broberg is not a new one. The abduction and sexual assault happened to Jan in Idaho in the 1970s. She and her mother, Mary Ann Broberg, published a memoir, Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story, in 2003. Then Skye Borgman produced and directed Forever B for Top Knot Films in 2017. Netflix rereleased the documentary in 2019, renaming it Abducted in Plain Sight.
The plot of A Friend of the Family is the same as the documentary, but it delves deeper into the family and how this master manipulator worked his way inside. After watching the Netflix take on the Broberg story, many viewers felt the parents were naive to let a man get so close to their adolescent daughter. The creator and executive producer, Nick Antosca, understands the audience’s hesitation to relate to the story.
“It is understandable,” Antosca wrote in a press release from Peacock. “It’s a surreal story. When I first heard it, I empathized with the family’s vulnerability, and I felt like I understood their story from the outside. But it stayed with me, and I wanted to understand from the inside — to know what their lives felt like, to live in each family member’s experience, to see how they were caught in such a bizarre web, and to help audiences empathize with them too.”
The cast of ‘Friend of the Family’ on Peacock
Jake Lacy portrays the “charming local businessman,” Robert “B” Berchtold, who infiltrates the family in ways no one could have imagined. Anna Paquin (Flack, The Irishman, True Blood) portrays Jan’s mother, Mary Ann Broberg. Colin Hanks (The Offer, Impeachment: American Crime Story) stars opposite Paquin, as Jan’s father and Mary Ann’s husband, Bob Broberg.
Lio Tipton (The Edge of Sleep, Why Women Kill) plays Robert Berchtold’s wife, Gail. The pair have a large family, and she was completely unsuspecting of what her husband would eventually do. Hendrix Yancey (George & Tammy, Unbelievable) plays Jan in the early years, while McKenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Handmaid’s Tale) portrays Jan in the later years.
When does ‘Friend of the Family’ premiere? How to watch the true crime drama
Friend of the Family premieres on Peacock on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, with three episodes. The following six episodes drop weekly on Thursdays. Each episode is approximately one hour long. The true crime drama is a Peacock original series; therefore, it is available through the Peacock app on various devices, including Roku, Fire Stick, Smart TVs, Apple, and Android devices.
The ‘A Friend of the Family’ trailer dropped during the 2022 Emmys
With all of the true crime dramas up for trophies at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, it’s no surprise that Peacock chose to drop the A Friend of the Family trailer during the show. It’s equal parts creepy and intriguing.
The trailer begins with a detective questioning MaryAnn and Bob Broberg about the nature of their relationship with Robert Berchtold.
“Well, he’s practically a member of the family,” Mary Ann begins.
Then the teaser cuts to various scenes of children exclaiming how much they love “Brother B.” He flatters Bob by explaining what a great father and church member he is. Then B expresses love for the Broberg family and marriage. However, viewers see the infidelity between B and Mary Ann as Bob suspiciously watches the family friend dance with his wife.
“No one thinks that their best friend is a monster,” a detective says in the trailer. “But he has all the hallmarks of a psychopathic personality. Robert Berchtold doesn’t feel emotions the way that we do. He will lie and manipulate to get the only thing that he wants.”
The trailer is chilling. A Friend of the Family premieres on Peacock on Oct. 6, 2022.
