Mckenna Grace on Why 'A Friend of the Family' Had a Counselor on Set

A counselor and intimacy coordinator were always available on the set of A Friend of the Family, Peacock's new true crime drama, star Mckenna Grace told Newsweek.

The actress portrays Jan Broberg in her teen years in the show. In real life, Broberg was kidnapped twice by family friend Robert 'B' Berchtold: once at the age of 12 and the second time when she was 14.

Berchtold groomed, manipulated and sexually abused Broberg between 1972 and 1976, making her believe that she had to have a child with him before she turned 16 in order to protect her family from aliens.

Berchtold is portrayed by actor Jake Lacy in the drama, and Grace spoke of what it was like to act opposite him in scenes between Broberg and Berchtold.

Mckenna Grace on Why 'A Friend of the Family' Had a Counselor On Set

Grace will make her debut in the series' fifth episode to be released this Thursday. The role was previously portrayed by Hendrix Yancey.

Reflecting on working with Lacy, Grace explained how it was important for there to be a counselor and intimacy coordinator on set given the nature of their scenes and the events they were recreating.

"Honestly, I talk about Jake all the time and how brilliant I think that he is. He's such a great actor and an amazing scene partner, and a really safe, amazing person to be around," Grace said.

"He always made sure that I felt comfortable, and I think that that was what was important is that we did focus a lot on the psychological effects of the manipulation, because not everything needs to be shown on screen.

"But we also had an on-set counselor, and an intimacy coordinator that was always there to make sure everybody was comfortable. There was a big safety net."

The actress continued: "And I'm never afraid to tell people if I'm uncomfortable with something.

"But Jake is incredible and I'm so happy that I got to work with him, and portraying such a complicated relationship was wild and I'm just happy that I got to be able to work with him."

Grace also spoke of what her experience was like with the real Jan Broberg, who made sure she was available at all times to help the actress and gave her advice whenever needed.

"It was really special, and it meant a lot to me just how open she was with me," Grace said of Broberg. "The first time I ever talked to her we were on the phone for two hours, and she just told me so much and I could always message her.

"She got the [script] sides every day and she would always tell if there was a line or something that didn't feel right, but I would always ask her.

"I would always ask her what was going through her mind, and it just meant a lot to be able to have such access to her, and that she was just so open, and always there."

A Friend of the Family airs Thursdays on Peacock.

Update 10/11/2022 8:46 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a video clip of Mckenna Grace talking about working with Jake Lacy and having a counselor on set.