All Happy Families begins by reminding viewers that all happy families are alike, but unhappy families are unhappy in their own way. Wow, this family has some stuff going on.

All Happy Families begins with Graham (Josh Radnor) learning that the pipes in the house where he lives need replacing because they leak. Graham is attempting to rent out an apartment in the house, but it needs some sprucing up to be attractive to a renter.

Graham is a more or less failed actor / failed writer. His older brother Will (Rob Huebel) actually owns the place. Will is a successful actor with a popular TV show.

When Dana (Chandra Russell) shows up at the door looking for an apartment, Graham is thrilled. He had a crush on her in college, and it looks like she might have had similar feelings toward him. The apartment is rented! To Dana!

Sue (Becky Ann Baker), the mother, just quit her job of 30 plus years. Roy (John Ashton), the dad, has a huge debt from online gambling. They decide to come help Graham get the apartment ready for the new tenant.

Then Will shows up unexpectedly. He’s got problems, too. They aren’t revealed immediately, so I’ll leave that spoiler free for you. He does announce that his child is now called Evie (Ivy O’Brien) and is using she/her pronouns. This transition doesn’t faze anyone in the family except the old curmudgeon Roy.

People are always asking Sue to sing. She actually does on a night out with her girlfriends. She sings with Rodney Crowell no less! She has some leftover drama going on with her former boss that brings in a subplot.

Graham has to ask Dana to delay moving in because his brother is in the apartment for a while. All he really wants to do is ask her on a date.

These people are so real and genuine. It was refreshing. None of them were even close to perfect, but their flaws were failures on a human scale. The unusual situation of them all being together for a few days lead to some explosive family interactions. Graham grew a bit of backbone, which he needed. Sue turned out to be amazing. Even the plumber (Antoine McKay) had some good bits.

Overall it was different and fresh. The romance storyline was predictable, but everything else was original and engaging. Haroula Rose directed, and also co-wrote All Happy Families. It’s streaming on Prime and Tubi or can be rented from places like YouTube and Apple TV.