AllMovie

A Friend of the Family: True Evil, the documentary companion to Peacock’s popular scripted series, is the story of Jan Broberg, who survived years of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of family friend and neighbor, Robert Berchtold. Through all-new interviews with Jan and her family, NBC News correspondent Andrea Canning explores in detail how Berchtold methodically and deviously gained access to Jan, exploited her family, instigated encounters with – and blackmailed – both her parents, and brainwashed Jan to believe that aliens would kill her and harm her sisters and parents if she didn’t bend to his will. As Jan confronts the painful events that shaped her, she meets another survivor of Berchtold’s abuse, who shares her own experiences for the first time. Through Jan’s journey, this saga of lies, deceit, and inhumanity becomes a powerful story of endurance, courage, and a family's life-affirming bond.