BYU NewsNet - Family television series making national release

The research-based reality television series “Real Families, Real Answers,” a collaboration of the BYU School of Family Life and BYU Broadcasting, is now scheduled to make its national debut on public television stations across the nation. After a positively received television screening, about 61 stations across the United States plan on airing the 13-episode series, which documents experiences of real families alongside family research in themes such as strengthening marriage, managing emotions, single-parenting and parenting teenagers.

The series is on its second run on BYU Television and KBYU and shows Sundays at 6 p.m. and Mondays at 9:30 a.m. on BYU-TV and Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on KBYU Channel 11, until June.

Stephen Duncan, director of content development, said although BYU directed the series, it features real experiences of families from across the country, from various ethnic, religious and socio-economic levels.

“They represent all different walks of life,” Duncan said, “We try to reach as many people as possible. Everyone is looking for how to strengthen families, regardless of their shape and size.”

Blair Treu, director-producer of the series, made hundreds of phone-call interviews out of the 600 families who volunteered, to find those to match each episode. Duncan and a committee of other family life professors organized the research content and on-screen interviews, drawing from not only BYU professors, but also family life professionals across the country.

The end product is a fast-paced, engaging and informative series in 30-minute episodes that aim to strengthen families through practical tools from research and experiences of real people.

“It’s wonderful where good scholarship can get out to where people can use it in their everyday lives,” said Duncan, also a professor in the School of Family Life. “We’re taking it around the world to people who may never get close enough to any university. Every episode has ideas you can walk away with and use.”

Diena Simmons, station manager at KBYU, said she wouldn’t be working on promoting the series if she didn’t support it completely.

“I think it is a wonderful series,” Simmons said. “We are very pleased and proud to be able to share not only an engaging television series, but important information with viewers across the country.”

The response has been uniformly positive for those who have viewed the show, many sharing experiences where they learned something new that helped them strengthen their family life.

Treu, an award-winning director who works with the LDS Motion Picture Studio, said of the many projects he has worked on, this series is near the top of the list of those he values most. He said it is great to be involved with a series about something that is so important to him, and he has learned many things about parenting he wished he knew earlier.

“Families in the country are under attack,” Treu said, “[and if I can be involved] in anything that promotes the family as the single most important unit, I’m ready for that.”

Those interested can contact their local television provider for scheduling information.