The Family is an American documentary streaming 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 | Trails Scott |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 5 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Cinematography | 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]
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. |
Critics 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]
The Family was released on August 9, 2019 on Netflix.