I’ve watched a couple of episodes of Ties That Bind. It’s a family story. The mom Allison McLean (Kelli Williams) is a cop. Jonathan Scarfe is her husband Matt. They have two teens of their own. When Allison puts her brother (Luke Perry) behind bars while the mother of her brother’s two kids is in rehab, they decide to take his teens in.
The mingled family struggles to adapt but the emphasis is on family looking out for family.
I was a little nervous about watching anything on the UP network. I’d never even heard of the UP network before and didn’t realize I had it in my channel selections. When I first looked at the network, I was afraid the series would be religious propaganda. That isn’t the case in this show. There’s no disguised preaching in Ties That Bind that I’ve seen. The family does say a prayer at dinner time – and manages a traditional family dinner together. Definitely a point of view, but not an overly heavy-handed one.
There’s a honest look at family life. Allison and Matt argue but also have a happy love life. The teenagers act like teenagers.
Allison’s partner in the police department is played by an African American man (Dion Johnstone), so the show isn’t blindingly white. A good percent of each of the shows I’ve seen center around Allison’s work as a cop, with the family story woven in around the edges of that.
It sounds a bit like The Fosters but it’s quite different, especially because it’s a police procedural as much as a drama about a family dealing with foster children. And the two teens coming into the family are blood relatives.
I saw this trailer for the show and was interested because of Kelli Williams, an actress I like. Take a look.
I’m liking Ties That Bind so far and plan to continue watching. If you’ve seen this show, I’d love to hear your opinion about it in the comments.