The Family (2016)

There are a few arcs on The Family that could use a little work. ... Still, those little missteps hardly detract from the thrills and chills of The Family.

Tonally it’s a high-wire act, one that will be impressive should The Family manage to pull it off, but runs a real risk of trivializing an extremely sensitive subject.

While we're waiting to be further mystified, there's plenty to see, including McCarthy's scene-stealing performance as a character who might be as misunderstood as Boo Radley, or might truly be the bogeyman of our worst nightmares.

The series isn’t necessarily equipped to deal with the true emotional ramifications of its story of kidnap as well as, say, Starz’s harrowing miniseries The Missing, but it doesn’t just gloss over them, either.

Even the best performers need time to pause and room to spread out. For The Family to become the deep and nuanced character drama it clearly wants to be, everyone needs to take a breath, perhaps join a support group, and slow the heck down.

The Family is a shallow treatment of material that deserves more maturity, more empathy, more savvy about American culture. It shows capacity for interesting ideas but has only meager, cliché imagination for them.

There is so much wrong with the manipulative, poorly written and executed ABC drama The Family, it's difficult to know where to begin.