Jan Broberg's story—one that involves being kidnapped multiple times by someone who convinced her aliens would destroy the world if she didn't do everything he wanted—might not sound relatable at first, but she wants you to take a closer look.
Peacock's new series A Friend of the Family certainly allows for this, especially since Jan herself served as a producer on the project, which has been described by the streamer as being based on "the harrowing true story of the Broberg family," who was allegedly preyed upon by "charismatic, obsessed family 'friend,'" Robert "B" Berchtold.
"It's a horror story, yes," Jan noted during an exclusive interview with E! News, "but it's real."
And so is the specific type of abuse she says she experienced at the hands of Berchtold, because when you set aside the extreme lengths he's been accused of going in order to manipulate her, Jan said what you have is a "predator" hiding "right in plain sight."
"It's very common, this kind of abuse," she added (a notion that's backed up by data from RAINN that suggests the majority of children and teens who experience sexual violence know the perpetrator). "And it's the least talked about. We've got to change that."
It's her goal that A Friend of the Family will be a step in the right direction. "I hope we'll help people relate," Jan said, "and maybe tell their stories, start to get it out, start to heal from their trauma and start to to get the people that are those predators out of their lives and behind bars, because they don't stop."
Jan continued, explaining that in addition to the series bringing awareness, she herself wants to be the "voice for people who have been harmed and are still holding their story because it's embarrassing or somebody didn't believe them early on and now they've never really told or shared it."
She also shared a message to anyone who needs to hear it: "There is hope in the healing of your journey. It's hard, but you can do it."
The first four episodes of A Friend of the Family are now streaming on Peacock. New episodes will be released weekly on Thursdays.
(E! and Peacock are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)