SERIES PREMIERE: Jenna Banns, who created
Scandal, is behind this other addition to the ABC Thursday night lineup – and that ought to be enough information right there, for some people to decide to watch and for others to safely avoid. Its basic premise is this: a young boy disappears, and a sex-offender neighbor is convicted of murder – but then, 10 years later, a young man claiming to be that same boy suddenly reappears. What happens to the murder conviction? And to the rest of the family, where the mother, played by Joan Allen, is a small-town mayor considering a run for governor? That’s the deal. But where 1989’s
I Know My First Name Is Steven played a similar plot with subtlety and restraint, from
The Family you should expect more of the subtlety of
Scandal. Which means, set those burners on high, and see what boils. The cast, at least, is talented, and includes Andrew McCarthy and, from
The Newsroom, Alison Pill. After tonight,
The Family snuggles into its regular Sunday time slot on ABC. For a full review,
see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.