K.T Simpson
Mckenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Afterlife, The Handmaid’s Tale) will star in Peacock’s upcoming true crime limited drama “A Friend of the Family”.
The series is from Nick Antosca (The Act, Channel Zero), who will serve as showrunner, writer and executive producer. Antosca, under his production banner Eat the Cat, will produce via his overall deal with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group.
Grace joins previously announced series stars Anna Paquin (Flack, The Irishman,True Blood), Jake Lacy (The White Lotus, Being the Ricardos), Colin Hanks (The Offer, Impeachment: American Crime Story) and Lio Tipton (The Edge of Sleep, Why Women Kill).
Acclaimed director Eliza Hittman is set to direct and executive produce multiple episodes, including the first episode (101).
The limited series comes from UCP and will be based on Jan Broberg’s stranger-than-fiction kidnapping story.
The series is based on the harrowing true story of the Broberg family, whose daughter Jan was kidnapped multiple times over a period of years by a charismatic, obsessed family “friend.” The Brobergs – devoted to their faith, family, and community – were utterly unprepared for the sophisticated tactics their neighbor used to exploit their vulnerabilities, drive them apart, and turn their daughter against them. This is the story of how their lives were permanently altered – and how they survived.
Grace will play the role of Jan Broberg in the later years. Jan is the oldest daughter of Bob and Mary Ann Broberg and leads a happy, traditional life in an idyllic American city. Jan trusts family friend and neighbor Robert Berchtold, though he has plans for her abduction that she doesn’t suspect.
