In the Best of Families (miniseries)

In the Best of Families
The upper-half of the poster shows the headshots of the three lead actors: (from left to right) Harry Hamlin, Kelly McGillis, and Keith Carradine. The bottom-half shows a funeral procession leaving a church.
Promotional poster
Also known asBitter Blood
GenreTrue crime[1]
Based onBitter Blood
by Jerry Bledsoe
Written byRobert L. Freedman
Directed byJeff Bleckner
Starring
ComposerDon Davis
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes2
Production
Executive producerDan Wigutow
ProducerJeff Bleckner
CinematographyAlan Caso
Editors
  • Alan Shefland
  • Charles Borstein
Running time178 minutes (combined)[2]
Production companies
  • Ambroco Media Group
  • Dan Wigutow Productions
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseJanuary 16 (1994-01-16) –
January 18, 1994 (1994-01-18)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

In the Best of Families: Marriage, Pride & Madness is a two-part American television miniseries directed by Jeff Bleckner and written by Robert L. Freedman, based on the 1988 non-fiction book Bitter Blood by Jerry Bledsoe. The true crime story stars Kelly McGillis and Harry Hamlin as Susie and Fritz, a couple who, as a result of a custody battle between Susie and her ex-husband Tom (played by Keith Carradine), carry out a series of murders across North Carolina and Kentucky in the 1980s.

Bitter Blood is the second of Bledsoe's true crime books to be adapted by Freedman for the screen, following Blood Games which was adapted into the 1992 television film Honor Thy Mother. Television networks were apprehensive about the grisly ending in Bledsoe's book, which sees two children violently killed, and the miniseries ended up softening the original ending. Eager to play an antagonistic character, McGillis believed Susie suffered from some form of psychosis and prepared for the role by researching mental disorders. Hamlin and Carradine were both drawn to the project by Freedman's script, and both actors were also keen to take on characters that were a departure from their previous roles. The miniseries was shot under the working title Bitter Blood in Wilmington, North Carolina, in late 1993.

In the Best of Families first aired on CBS in two parts on January 16 and 18, 1994. The episodes were watched by 21.3 and 23.9 million total viewers respectively, putting both episodes in the top 20 most-watched programs for their respective broadcast weeks. The miniseries received mostly unfavorable reviews, with particular condemnation for its gratuitous violence and sensationalism. Still, critics found positive aspects in Bleckner's direction and the strong cast. It was subsequently released on home video in Europe under the title Bitter Blood.

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