If a family is purely abusive or miserable, the audience will disengage. If they are perfectly happy, there is no story. The magic lies in the gray area: showing a family that is profoundly broken, yet held together by a fragile, undeniable connective tissue that makes them fight for one another despite it all.
Ground your characters in a space they cannot easily leave. Funerals, weddings, holiday dinners, or a shared business force characters to interact. Iconic Examples in Media If a family is purely abusive or miserable,