HBO has just released the first trailer forNuclear Family, its upcoming docuseries from directorRy Russo-Young. The three-part series follows Russo-Young’s parents,Sandra RussoandRobin Youngas they pioneered gay parenthood in the ’80s, and the legal battle that threatened to tear their family apart.
Combining home videos, press coverage, and astonishingly raw interviews, the trailer offers a clear glimpse of the scope and personal stakes of the story. The series details how Russo and Young sought to start a family at a time when same-sex marriage wasn’t legal, and sperm banks refused to serve lesbian couples. They ultimately turned to at-home insemination methods, relying on sperm donors introduced to them by a mutual friend to each conceive a daughter. When their relationship to Ry’s biological father,Tom Steel, became frayed almost a decade later, it kicked off a custody battle that posed a threat to their unconventional family.
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Russo-Young, whose directing credits include 2017’sBefore I Falland 2019’sThe Sun is Also a Star, is at once an observer and the subject of the story, grounding the conflict from the point of view of the person it was all about. From that perspective, the issues of landmark legal decisions or the justice system’s oppression of homosexuals fall away, revealing the human connections underneath them all. The result is a remarkably universal story designed to resonate with anyone who struggles with unresolved issues in their own families, lives, or in the broader world.
The series is produced Russo-Young andWarren Fischer, who previously worked with the director onThe Sun is Also a Star, as well as byDan Cogan, whoseAllen v. Farrowtook a similarly humane look at a high profile legal battle. Executive producers includeLiz Garbus,Jon Bardin,Julie Gaither,Jenny Raskin,Geralyn Dreyfous,Lauren Haber,Peter Saraf,Leah Holzer,Alex Turtletaub,Maria Zuckerman,Christine Connor,Ryan Heller,Barbara Dobkin,Eric Dobkin,Andrea Van Beuren, andJoe Landauer.
Nuclear Familydebuts on HBO on September 26, with subsequent episodes following weekly. Check out the trailer forNuclear Familybelow.
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