When she was 9 years old,Ry Russo-Young’s world was suddenly in danger of disintegrating.
The daughter of two lesbian moms, Russo-Young was used to people having questions about her family.
“There were many years I felt like I had the full story,” she tells EW.
Sandy Russo, Ry Russo-Young, Tom Steel, Cade Russo-Young, and Robin Young.HBO
“But I didn’t.”
ET onHBOand will also be available to stream onHBO Max.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What made you want to tell your story now, in this way?
Cade Russo-Young, Sandy Russo, Ry Russo-Young, and Robin Young.HBO
Whereas in narrative, you have to have it all figured out.
And that would become part of the film, the learning.
When did you realize you didn’t know the full story?
Ry Russo-Young and Tom Steel.HBO
There were many years I felt like I had the full story.
So those were the questions of the time.
What was your family’s reaction when you first told them you were going to film this docuseries?
A poster for ‘Nuclear Family’.HBO
Let’s do another interview."
I did an interview in 2014, ostensibly for whatever this film was going to be.
My moms are incredibly supportive of me in all respects.
They felt threatened by it.
And they felt, from the beginning, that they really didn’t want to re-litigate the lawsuit.
They didn’t want to have to do that, which I completely understood.
I think they eventually realized I was coming to them for my own edification.
I was coming from a place of, “I need to process this.
Can we do this together as a family?”
My editors and I had built the film, basically.
And I said, “Oh, no.
You’re right.”
It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.
I was so scared of hurting them and of breaking my family apart.
I was thinking, “Are we going to make it through this?
And then we sat down together, and it was a four-hour conversation.
And then there were many conversations after that.
I had breakfast with my parents this morning and we’re still processing to this day.
Was it difficult convincing Tom’s friends to speak to you for this series?
Yes, I had convincing to do.
How did you navigate being both subject and filmmaker?
Did you have to keep your instincts as one separate from the other?
I knew I was tracking that as my arc for “my character.”
And there were certainly many times when I would have to refer to her as “Ry.”
I would say, “Well, let’s talk about, ‘How does Ry feel?'”
The series ends with a look at your growing family.
How big has it grown now?
So there’s my two moms.
And then my sister, Cade, is married to a trans man, Max.
They have a daughter, Sy, who’s about two months older than Sandy.
The fun fact is that Max carried Sy.
I loved telling people that “my sister’s husband is pregnant,” that was fun.
What’s been the most rewarding part of sharing your story with the world this way?
But they’re fraught because there’s so much love there and so much history.
That exactly what I hoped would happen.
