The Family is an American documentary television miniseries that premiered on Netflix on August 9, 2019. The series examines a conservative Christian group—known as the Family or the Fellowship—its history, and investigates its influence on American politics.[1][2][3]
| The Family | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Docuseries |
| Directed by | Jesse Moss |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 5 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Cinematography | Frederick Elmes Thorsten Thielow |
| Editor | Pax Wassermann |
| Running time | 46–54 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | August 9, 2019 |
The series was executive produced by Jeff Sharlet, who previously wrote books about the same organization, including C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy and The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power.[4]
Cast
edit- David Rysdahl as Jeff Sharlet.[5]
- Sharlet appears as himself in the documentary interview portions of the series.
- Ben Rosenfield.[6]
- Zachary Booth[6]
- Michael Park[6]
- Nate Klingenberg
- Tessa Albertson[6]
- James Cromwell as Douglas Coe[7][6]
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Submersion" | August 9, 2019 | |
|
Douglas Coe is the leader of the Family; he doesn't seek fame and wants to maintain a low profile. His followers are groups of men and women in their 20s in gender-segregated groups. Members of Congress and foreign dignitaries are routinely hosted at The Cedars. The men live in a dormitory at the Cedars called the Ivanwald.[8] | |||
| 2 | "Chosen" | August 9, 2019 | |
|
The Fellowship believes in the leadership of those who are chosen. They adhere to Calvinist doctrines better known as Presbyterianism in the United States. | |||
| 3 | "New World Order" | August 9, 2019 | |
|
Abraham Vereide starts hosting the National Prayer Breakfast in 1954 in Washington D.C. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990, Aleksandr Torshin forges close ties with Doug Coe. | |||
| 4 | "Dictators, Murderers & Thieves" | August 9, 2019 | |
|
Mark D. Siljander is indicted while campaigning against reproductive rights in foreign countries. Siljander accepted donations from terrorist-linked Muslim groups. | |||
| 5 | "Wolf King" | August 9, 2019 | |
|
Donald Trump, raised as a Presbyterian, praises Norman Vincent Peale. | |||
Reception
editCritics have generally praised the series.[9] For Decider, Joel Keller described it as having "a lot of potential to fascinate".[6] Joel Mayward of Cinemayard described the series as "chilling" but also wrote that it felt "muddled and redundant".[10] Vulture's Jen Chaney noted that the series focused predominantly on the Fellowship's influence on conservatives, and excluded Democratic involvement.[11]
Release
editThe Family was released on August 9, 2019 on Netflix.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Netflix's 'The Family' Trailer: Meet the Secret Organization Trying to Un-Separate Church and State". The Wrap. August 7, 2019.
- ^ "The Family: It's Not About Faith, It's About Power - Official Trailer". YouTube. August 7, 2019.
- ^ "Stream It Or Skip It: 'The Family' On Netflix, A Docuseries About A Secret Religious Organization Infiltrating The Highest Levels Of Government". Decider. August 10, 2019.
- ^ Foreman, Alison (9 August 2019). "Netflix's 'The Family' raises an eyebrow at secretive D.C. influence". Mashable. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
- ^ "The Family: inside the sinister sect that has infected western democracy". The Guardian. August 15, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f White, Brett (August 10, 2019). "The Real Footage in 'The Family' Is so Scary You'll Wish You Were Still Watching Those Cheesy Reenactments". Decider.
- ^ Nicolaou, Elena. "Donald Trump Just Called Himself The Chosen One & This Netflix Documentary Might Explain Why". Refinery29.
- ^ "The Patriarchal Allure of 'The Family'". The Atlantic. 14 August 2019.
- ^ "The Family: Limited Series". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "The Family". cinemayward. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
- ^ Chaney, Jen (August 12, 2019). "The Family Puts a Secret Organization in the Spotlight, But Could Use Stronger Wattage". Vulture. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
External links
edit- The Family at IMDb
- The Family on Netflix
