Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Entertainment
  3. News

A Friend of the Family trailer shows a psychopath at work

Dan Girolamo
By

In the trailer for Peacock’s A Friend of the Family, which is based on a true story, FBI Agent Peter Walsh (Austin Stowell) tells the Broberg family to question the intentions of their neighbor, Robert Berchtold (Jake Lacy). “No one thinks that their best friend is a monster,” says Walsh. “But he has all the hallmarks of a psychopathic personality.”

Colin Hanks and Anna Paquin star as Bob and Mary Ann Broberg, a kindhearted suburban family who became great friends with Robert and his wife, Gai (Lio Tipton). Over a few years, Robert manipulated the Brobergs to go against one another other, exploiting their vulnerabilities as a family while driving a wedge between the parents and one of their daughters, Jan (Mckenna Grace). During this time frame, Robert kidnapped Jan multiple times, and sexually assaulted her in the process.

Recommended Videos

Lacy introduced the trailer during the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, where he was nominated in the supporting category for his role in The White Lotus.

A Friend of The Family | Official Trailer | Peacock Original

The harrowing true story comes from showrunner Nick Antosca, who created the true crime dramas The Act and Candy. A Friend of the Family also stars Hendrix Yancey as a younger Jan. Patrick Fischler, Philip Ettinger, Ella Jay Basco, and Bree Elrod round out the ensemble.

“This story will make you talk, shout, cry — and it will make you angry. Good,” said producer Jan Broberg in a press release. “Our story is relatable because so many families have direct experience with this sort of abuse.” Jan’s story was the subject of the documentary, Abducted in Plain Sight.

Jake Lacy and Hendrix Yancey eat ice cream in a scene from A Friend of the Family.
A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY -- “Horseback Riding in American Falls” Episode 101 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jake Lacy as Robert "B" Berchtold, Hendrix Yancey as Young Jan Broberg (Photo by: Erika Doss/Peacock)

A Friend of the Family premieres on Peacock on October 6 with three episodes at launch and new episodes streaming weekly. 

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Dan Girolamo
Dan Girolamo
Entertainment Writer
Dan is a passionate and multitalented content creator with experience in pop culture, entertainment, and sports. Throughout…
Air trailer shows Matt Damon and Ben Affleck courting Michael Jordan to Nike
Matt Damon and Viola Davis sit at a bench in Air.

Before becoming a global sensation, Michael Jordan was a promising young basketball player looking for a sneaker company to sign with upon entering the NBA in the early '80s. Nike's quest to sign Jordan to a shoe deal plays out in the first trailer for Air.

Matt Damon (The Last Duel) stars as Sonny Vaccaro, a shoe salesman at Nike. Before he became the iconic marketing executive and entrepreneur, Vaccaro was looking for his big break. Vaccaro sees Jordan as a potential superstar and begins to pursue him to sign with Nike. Vaccaro tells CEO Phil Knight (The Tender Bar's Ben Affleck) that Nike should build a shoe line around the young player, something uncommon for rookies, and call it "Air Jordan." The ensuing journey is played out in the trailer as Vaccaro travels to North Carolina to convince Jordan's parents (Black Adam's Viola Davis and The Woman King's Julius Tennon) to sign with Nike.

Read more
Hulu’s Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence trailer dives into Larry Ray scandal
Poster for Hulu's Stolen Youth docuseries.

Hulu released the trailer for its next true crime docuseries, Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence. The three-part series will explore the story of Larry Ray, a former CIA operative convicted of extortion, sex trafficking, and conspiracy for his role in manipulating a group of college students at Sarah Lawrence College.

After his release from prison in 2010, Ray moved into his daughter's apartment at Sarah Lawrence College. At first, Ray's presence was welcome as he bonded with the students and earned their trust. However, these gestures signified his authoritarian personality, as Ray would manipulate the group to follow his orders and send him money. Interviewees in the trailer share how Ray would feed the students Adderall to stay up for long periods and physically punish people for falling out of line. This all culminated with Ray's decision to start a sex cult with the manipulated students.

Read more
Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields trailer spotlights unsolved murders
A woman kneels before a cross in Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields.

Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields, the newest season in Netflix's true crime docuseries, has received its first trailer. The Crime Scene miniseries will cover the notorious patch of land in League City, Texas, where 30 bodies of murdered young girls and women have been found over the past 50 years. In addition to the murdered bodies, many girls have disappeared in the fields, and their bodies remain missing.

The Texas Killing Fields will focus on the cases of four murdered women -- three in the 1980s and one in 1991 -- whose bodies were discovered in the fields. These cases, along with many others from the fields, remain unsolved. However, that hasn't stopped one father in his pursuit of justice. The footage highlights his attempt to rally a community and seek answers for what happened to these girls. While the residents search for answers, the authorities struggle to find the murderers as they believe these acts could be tied to ritualistic killings.

Read more