‘A Friend of the Family’ Showrunner on Jan Broberg’s Finale Cameo: “We Got Chills On Set Watching It”

Warning: Spoilers for A Friend of the Family ahead.

A Friend of the Family, Peacock‘s original nine-episode limited series, stands apart from so many other biographical dramas and true crime adaptations. Why? Its subjects — Jan Broberg and her family — not only green-lit the series, they were directly involved in bringing their story to screen.

In an interview with Decider, showrunner, EP, and writer Nick Antosca explained that Jan’s collaboration was “essential” to crafting the series and that he wouldn’t have moved forward with the show had she not been on board. Jan and her mother Mary Ann served as producers on the show, and Jan also appeared at the top of the first episode to deliver a message to viewers.

“I’m Jan Broberg, and this series is based on my family’s story,” she said. “I know it may seem unbelievable, but we lived in a different world back then. I want to tell my family’s story today because so many seem to think something like this could never happen to them, especially at the hands of someone they know and trust. But it did happen. It happened to my family. It happened to me. Thank you for watching.”

The thoughtful cameo was one of many invaluable contributions Jan made to the series. But it wasn’t her last time on-screen. If you keep your eyes peeled, you’ll see her again in A Friend of the Family‘s finale. In Episode 9, “Revelation,” the real Broberg — who’s an actor — plays Jan’s (Mckenna Grace) therapist. She’s seen talking to Jan as she draws in her office, she listens to Jan’s thoughts about B and her parents, and she gently lends advice. Later, she’s seen meeting with Jan’s dad, Bob Broberg (Colin Hanks), and advising him on how best to help Jan heal from the series of traumatic events.

“She needs freedom to grow up. You can’t watch her every minute, but it’s also important to keep engaging her so when she’s ready to talk you’ll be there for her,” Broberg says in character. “I hope that with time, Jan will feel more comfortable opening up about her experiences. She’ll carry them with her throughout her life. But Bob, there is a path to healing. Don’t give up.”

The appearance, the dialogue, and the particular character Broberg portrays in the series are so powerful. And Nick Antosca shared how exactly Broberg’s special cameo came about.

“Jan is a working actress and has been for years, and she was running a theatre company for while. We went to see her in a play before we got started. So we were always talking about considering that as a possibility,” he explained. “It wasn’t something that Jan pushed hard for, although she was like “I’m an actress,” she wasn’t like, “Put me in, coach.” We talked about it once we kind of got toward the end of the writer’s room. And she said she was open to it. She was trying to think about what the right part would be, and then we were talking about one of the nuns potentially, and I was like, ‘Actually, what about this character who is just mentioned in the book and was a real therapist.'” Antosca said he saw Broberg in this particular role as “a really powerful opportunity.”

“Telling the story for her has been therapeutic, and I hope that the expression of it in the show — to actually play that role — was therapeutic for her, too. You don’t want it to be too meta, but I thought it was more emotionally resonant than it was meta,” he continued. “I just thought that was a very powerful thing to see her talk to the younger version of herself, and to get a chance to talk to her father who is no longer alive. It was very powerful, and we got chills on set watching it. And she’s really good!”

To hear more of Antosca’s thoughts on the series and his collaboration with the Broberg family, read our full A Friend of the Family interview.

A Friend of the Family is currently streaming on Peacock.