Robert Berchtold and Bob Broberg were friends before Rob kidnapped Bob’s daughter.
American drama miniseries “Friend of the Family” centers on Robert Berchtold. Rob kidnaps Jan Broberg twice over the course of two years, and this story is based on actual occurrences.
On October 6, 2022, Peacock broadcasted the first of its nine episodes. The 2017 documentary Abducted in Plain Sight previously documented the incidents that were the subject of the television series.
In May 2020, it was revealed that Universal Content Productions was working on a television series on Jan Broberg’s abductions. Under his Eat the Cat imprint, Nick Antosca was slated to write and executive produce the project, and Jan and Mary Ann Broberg were slated to act as producers.
Robert Berchtold and Bob Broberg Relationship
Robert Berchtold and Bob Broberg had a friendship that eventually led to tragedy for the family.
The impact Robert “B” Berchtold had on the Broberg family is examined in A Friend of the Family, notably the way he used Mary Ann and Bob Broberg as tools to court their eldest daughter, Jan.
Jan was twice abducted by Berchtold between 1972 and 1976; the first time when she was 12, and the second, when she was 14. Jan was groomed by Berchtold from an early age. He also had intimate connections with both of her parents during this time.
The Broberg family’s tale is also covered in the documentary Abducted in Plain Sight and Mary Ann’s 2003 book Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story, in addition to the Peacock drama.
In the documentary, Bob reflected on that particular day and remarked that he could tell that Berchtold was highly distressed. He asks if he is liberated. And asks permission for a ride.
Director Skye Borgman of Abducted in Plain Sight described how she learned about Berchtold’s friendship with Bob in an interview with Vulture in 2019. There was a manifesto of sorts that Berchtold had drafted. They got a few pages of it, and it spoke briefly of a bond with the father. Then, when they received those transcripts from the two sessions that they had attended, they learned that they had discussed the car incident.
The True Story Behind Peacock’s “A Friend of the Family”
The series revisits the terrible case of grooming and abduction and features Colin Hanks, Jake Lacy, and an almost unrecognizable Anna Paquin (True Blood). The fact that the man who abducted Jan Broberg was known to her family as a friend and that he later abducted her a second time shows how cunning the offender was.
It’s an unbelievable story. Borgman even admitted to Vanity Fair that she took a six-week hiatus from editing because she became so irritated with the family and their behavior. However, A Friend Of The Family’s showrunner Nick Antosca told Deadline that we should feel a little sympathy for the family.
In the middle of the 1970s, Jan resided in Idaho with her religious family. Robert Berchtold, a close friend of the family, was a devout Mormon and a respected member of the neighborhood.
Berchtold, who was married and had kids, gained a reputation as the family’s fun dad (they called him “B”) and became so well-liked that Jan’s parents, Robert and Mary Ann, allowed him to sleep in the young Jan’s bed.
When Jan was 12 years old, Berchtold took her horseback riding one evening, but they never made it back to their house. Instead, Berchtold drugged and abducted her before transporting her to a Mexican desert thousands of miles away.
Jan Broberg, who is now a well-known actor, serves as A Friend Of The Family’s executive producer alongside her mother. She said in an interview with the BBC that she now wants to use her platform to warn others about the behavior of predatory abusers. She also expressed hope that other survivors will feel empowered to move forward with their own lives and to fix what’s broken as a result of hearing about her own experience.
The Review
There will undoubtedly be discussions regarding the story’s pacing. It will be simple for some to claim that nine episodes are an excessively expansive canvas, especially when compared to a film that covered significant moments on the timeline in 91 minutes.
It’s not altogether false to say that “A Friend of the Family” is repetitive. B is a character whose unwavering objectives don’t permit many alterations past a certain point, with the possible exception of who his aim is.
But it’s also important to remember that this is not a show that is meant to be discussed in all capitals. It is detailed, done with great care, and has a clear purpose.
Many were immediately nervous about Peacock’s A Friend of the Family’s plan to recount Jan Broberg’s terrifyingly weird narrative in nine hours because it was only 91 minutes long and either infuriatingly repetitious or repetitively irritating.
‘A Friend of the Family’ is simultaneously doomed by that structural decision and close to a best-case scenario, according to the six episodes that were supplied to critics. The first and third episodes are both directed by Eliza Hittman, who also sets an excellently restrained starting tone.
However, the program drags on far past the point where I lose interest, and its insights quickly wane, but at least it is delicately told, and its small cast is generally excellent.