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The Family: Media

Meredith Quill

By Meredith Quill
in The Family [V]

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Readalot

Readalot

When I first heard about this show I thought "Hello, DNA test?!" But in the previews they discuss a DNA test but I can comprehend what they are saying. Any ideas? Or is that the hook, I need to watch the Pilot to figure it out?

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Just Here

Just Here

Some reviews of the pilot and the second episode, which are mixed, to say the least:

(All links have potential spoilers, but nothing apparently twist-y.)
 
Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter did not like this at all:

THE BOTTOM LINE: Poorly written and completely ridiculous.
 
ABC's terrible new drama will crack your head open — and not in a good way.
 
There is so much wrong with the manipulative, poorly written and executed ABC drama The Family, it's difficult to know where to begin. But here's as good a place as any: Look up and move over, because there's an anvil coming down on your head.
 
Whatever intrigue and mystery that The Family thinks it's hiding is ruined by its tortured, leaden plot structure and unholy need to drop those anvils as many times as it can.

 
Robert Bianco, for USA Today, was similarly negative:

Someday, TV will realize that “dreary” and “dumb” are not a good mix.
 
To be sure, in any combination, “dreary” is never really a wise target to hit, particularly not for a ratings-dependent broadcast series such as ABC’s The Family (previewing Thursday, 9 p.m. ET/PT, then Sundays at 9, ** out of four)...
 
Unfortunately, despite a fine cast led by Joan Allen, Zach Gilford, Rupert Graves and Andrew McCarthy, underneath Family’s “prestige drama” exterior beats the pulp-trash heart that animates Scandal, creator Jenna Bans' last series. What it lacks is the style, speed and self-knowing silliness that keeps Scandal afloat.

 
Variety's reviewer, Brian Lowry took a more measured tact:

Two hours in, “The Family” is thus off to a reasonably good start, without having completely separated itself from Adam’s situation. Because while the show looks the part of a quality drama, it’s too early to say if it’s really the genuine article or just another in a long line of imposters.

 
The A.V. Club's Joshua Alston gave the series a "B" and was generally positive:

The performances are the real draw, beginning with Allen, whose performance sells the synergy between Claire’s maternal grief and her career ambitions. Claire could easily come off as a cynic who rode a wave of public sympathy into office, but Allen lends her some much-needed humanity. Gilford and Pill are as reliable as ever, and like Allen, they’re able to ground the characters even as the story around them becomes uncomfortably busy. But the real draw is McCarthy, who is genuinely terrifying as Hank, a not-so-innocent man who became the chief suspect in Adam’s disappearance for all the right reasons, including a relatively mild sexual offense.

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