{ "id": "epmaj8jdf5", "slug": "the-family", "title": "The Family", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual", "label": "Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries", "label": "True crime and investigative docuseries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries.yr-2006-2022", "label": "Premiered 2006 to 2022", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries.yr-2006-2022" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020: True crime and investigative docuseries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual", "label": "Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries", "label": "True crime and investigative docuseries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Family (2019) is a five-episode Netflix documentary limited series directed by Jesse Moss, adapted from Jeff Sharlet's books about the Fellowship, a secretive Christian group tied to the National Prayer Breakfast; distinct from the 2008 Channel 4 and 2011 Australian series of the same name.", "snippet": "The Family (2019) is a five-episode Netflix documentary limited series directed by Jesse Moss, adapted from Jeff Sharlet's books about the Fellowship, a secretive Christian group tied to the National Prayer Breakfast; distinct from the 2008 Channel 4 and 2011 Australian series of the same name.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.true_crime_docuseries.yr-2006-2022", "markdown": "# The Family\n\n**The Family** is a 2019 American documentary limited series directed by Jesse Moss that examines the Fellowship, a secretive conservative Christian organization also known as the Family, which wields influence in Washington, D.C., in pursuit of what the series describes as global ambitions[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_family-2019). The five-episode series was released on Netflix on August 9, 2019, and is adapted from two nonfiction books by the journalist Jeff Sharlet, who also appears in the series and serves as an executive producer[2](https://english.dartmouth.edu/news/2019/11/bringing-family-netflix).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | Five-episode documentary limited series, episodes running 46 to 54 minutes[3](https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80063867) • [4](https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/the-family-season-1.html) |\n| Release | August 9, 2019, on Netflix; TV-14 in the United States[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_family-2019) |\n| Director | Jesse Moss[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_family-2019) |\n| Executive producers | Alex Gibney, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, and Jeff Sharlet[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-family-2019/) |\n| Source material | Sharlet's *The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power* (2008) and *C Street* (2010), plus new research[2](https://english.dartmouth.edu/news/2019/11/bringing-family-netflix) • [6](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/netflixs-docu-series-the-family-offers-history-lesson-but-lacks-insight) |\n| Production company | Jigsaw Productions[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-family-2019/) |\n| Critical scores | 80% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (10 reviews); Metascore 63 on Metacritic (5 critic reviews)[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_family-2019/s01) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-family-2019/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Subject of the series\n\nThe series profiles the Fellowship, an evangelical Christian organization based in Washington, D.C., whose theology emphasizes networks of powerful people, including senators, congressmen, presidents, and other world leaders[2](https://english.dartmouth.edu/news/2019/11/bringing-family-netflix). Its activities, as described in Sharlet's books and the series, range from organizing the annual [National Prayer Breakfast](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-prayer-breakfast) to lobbying for anti-LGBTQ laws in Uganda and Romania[2](https://english.dartmouth.edu/news/2019/11/bringing-family-netflix). The organization was run by the elusive Doug Coe[6](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/netflixs-docu-series-the-family-offers-history-lesson-but-lacks-insight).\n\nSharlet first encountered the group while researching an earlier project on religious life in America, joining it without knowing what it was and returning later for further reporting[2](https://english.dartmouth.edu/news/2019/11/bringing-family-netflix). The series opens with his account of living at Ivanwald, a men's residence where he says he discovered the Family's allegiance to Jesus and to power[3](https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80063867). According to a Guardian review, the Fellowship's reading of its favorite scripture story casts King David as a kind of original alpha male, lending legitimacy to men who believe they have been chosen to lead[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/aug/15/the-family-netflix-powerful-sinister-christian-sect-trump).\n\n### Episodes\n\nThe five episodes, all released on August 9, 2019, are[3](https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80063867):\n\n1. **Submersion** (49 min): Sharlet details his days living at Ivanwald and what he learned about the group's loyalties.\n2. **Chosen** (54 min): Supporters and skeptics discuss C Street, a secrecy-shrouded residence for Washington politicians, and its role in high-profile sex scandals.\n3. **New World Order** (46 min): Doug Coe's obscuring of the group's role in the National Prayer Breakfast, described as a hub for backroom global influence-peddling.\n4. **Dictators, Murderers & Thieves** (49 min): Lawmakers in the United States leverage their influence to promote the Family's beliefs abroad, reaching leaders counted among history's most infamous dictators.\n5. **Wolf King** (47 min): Rooted in local men's groups, the Family's blending of theology, ideology, and worldly power extends to the U.S. presidency.\n\n## Production and sources\n\nMoss directed the series as an original production drawing from Sharlet's books as well as new research[2](https://english.dartmouth.edu/news/2019/11/bringing-family-netflix). Sharlet made his entire research archive available to the filmmakers and pointed them toward interview subjects[2](https://english.dartmouth.edu/news/2019/11/bringing-family-netflix). The series features interviews with Sharlet and, for the first time on camera in this way, with members of the Family themselves; Sharlet credited Moss with getting people from the organization to speak[2](https://english.dartmouth.edu/news/2019/11/bringing-family-netflix). Because the filmmakers could not embed with the organization, the series combines talking-head interviews with dramatized reenactments, including a scene from Sharlet's childhood meant to illustrate where his fascination with religion began[2](https://english.dartmouth.edu/news/2019/11/bringing-family-netflix).\n\nActor [James Cromwell](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-cromwell) portrays Doug Coe and Fellowship founder [Abraham Vereide](https://www.edgepedia.org/abraham-vereide) in dramatized segments, and David Rysdahl plays Sharlet[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-family-2019/). [Alex Gibney](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-gibney), whose Jigsaw Productions produced the series, served as executive producer alongside Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, and Sharlet[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-family-2019/).\n\n## Reception\n\nCritical response was generally favorable. On Rotten Tomatoes the season holds an 80% Tomatometer from 10 reviews, with a critics consensus noting that the series' open-endedness undermines its impact but that it crafts a compelling picture of a shocking truth; the audience Popcornmeter score is 55% from more than 50 ratings[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_family-2019/s01). Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 63 based on 5 critic reviews, labeled generally favorable, while its user score stood at 5.4 from 12 ratings[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-family-2019/).\n\nReviewers praised the reporting but questioned the storytelling. Ann Donahue of IndieWire (83) called it a profoundly troubling examination of theocracy operating behind the scenes in Washington[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-family-2019/). In a review for [The Atlantic](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-atlantic) (60), [Sophie Gilbert](https://www.edgepedia.org/sophie-gilbert) argued that Moss adopts the visual conventions of conspiracy exposés, such as dramatic reenactments and selective splicing of clips involving [Maria Butina](https://www.edgepedia.org/maria-butina) and Muammar Gaddafi, and noted that the series leaves it an open question whether the Fellowship actually wields the power it wants or whether that enigmatic aura is its defining quality.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-family-2019/) Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com (50) found that the series can feel like an information dump more often than a film[6](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/netflixs-docu-series-the-family-offers-history-lesson-but-lacks-insight). Aaron Barnhart of Primetimer (70) noted that the series shows how the Fellowship was co-opted by politicians seeking favor with the evangelical power structure, but does not explain why the Fellowship exists in the first place[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-family-2019/).\n\nThe series received one Cinema Eye Honors nomination[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-family-2019/). In Australia, the Australian Classification Board rated the complete series M (mature) for coarse language and mature themes, with a total duration of 245 minutes[9](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/family-limited-series).\n\nThe Guardian's review placed the series in a political frame, concluding with an assessment of Donald Trump as perhaps the ultimate Fellowship president, an affront to those who feel born to rule in the form of democracy itself[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/aug/15/the-family-netflix-powerful-sinister-christian-sect-trump). Movieguide, a family-oriented review site, took the opposite view, calling the series a deeply biased attack on Christian conservatives and advising readers to skip it[4](https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/the-family-season-1.html).\n\n## Other works titled The Family\n\nThe title has been used by several unrelated documentaries. A 2008 British Channel 4 fly-on-the-wall series, *The Family*, filmed the Hughes family around the clock and was the first factual program to use the multi-camera fixed-rig system later adopted widely in documentary television; it ran for two series[10](https://www.dragonfly.tv/work/the-family/the-family/) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/nov/18/the-family-channel-4). A 2011 Australian eight-part series of the same name followed one Australian family's daily life[12](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/family-the-29306/), and a separate Australian feature documentary, *The Family*, investigates a notorious Australian cult through the accounts of survivors and the detectives who worked the case[13](https://miffindustry.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/The-Family-Presskit-FINAL.pdf).\n\n## References\n\n1. [The Family (2019), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_family-2019)\n2. [Bringing 'The Family' to Netflix, Dartmouth English and Creative Writing](https://english.dartmouth.edu/news/2019/11/bringing-family-netflix)\n3. [The Family, Netflix official site](https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80063867)\n4. [The Family review, Movieguide](https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/the-family-season-1.html)\n5. [The Family (2019), Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-family-2019/)\n6. [Netflix's Docu-series The Family Offers History Lesson but Lacks Insight, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/netflixs-docu-series-the-family-offers-history-lesson-but-lacks-insight)\n7. [The Family: Limited Series, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_family-2019/s01)\n8. [The Family: inside the sinister sect that has infected western democracy, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/aug/15/the-family-netflix-powerful-sinister-christian-sect-trump)\n9. [The Family: Limited Series, Australian Classification](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/family-limited-series)\n10. [The Family, Dragonfly](https://www.dragonfly.tv/work/the-family/the-family/)\n11. [The Family to get second run on Channel 4, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/nov/18/the-family-channel-4)\n12. [Family, The, Screen Australia](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/family-the-29306/)\n13. [The Family press kit, Melbourne International Film Festival Industry](https://miffindustry.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/The-Family-Presskit-FINAL.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series › True crime and investigative docuseries › Premiered 2006 to 2022*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-family", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-family.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Family\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-family. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Family](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-family)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-family](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-family). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Family\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-family. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Family is a five-episode Netflix documentary limited series directed by Jesse Moss, adapted from Jeff Sharlet's books about the Fellowship, a secretive Christian group tied to the National Prayer Breakfast; distinct from the 2008 Channel 4 and 2011 Australian series of the same name." }