16 TV shows that make your family look functional
From âThe Restaurantâ to âGame of Thrones,â from âDownton Abbeyâ to âArrested Developmentâ, itâs all in the family
By Ty Burr Globe Staff,Updated May 6, 2021, 12:53 p.m.
Email to a Friend
I love a good family TV show. Not the kind of shows
for families. The kind of shows
about families.
Maybe itâs because I grew up in a tiny clan â widowed mom, two sisters, a couple of cousins, thatâs it â but I have a soft spot for dramatic series that explore the bonds and betrayals of sprawling, ungainly family units. The resentments and groveling that can come with a demanding patriarch or a high-maintenance mother figure; the sibling side-deals and subterfuges â all this is grist for entertainment schadenfreude. Besides, these shows scratch a primal itch, the one that says: You think your family is crazy? Waitâll you get a load of this one.