Filmmaker Ry Russo-Young is not only the creator and director of the HBO Documentary Films series Nuclear Family, but also one of its main subjects.
The three-part series revolves around her upbringing as the daughter of a lesbian couple, Sandy Russo and Robin Young. Back in the late 1970s and early ’80s, couples like Sandy and Robin couldn’t get access to sperm banks if they wanted to start a family, so they relied on friends to recommend possible donors. That worked out fine for Russo and Young until Ry’s biological father, after spending time with the young Ry, became emotionally attached to her, and then sued Ry’s mothers for visitation rights. It turned into a terribly bitter court case.
Contenders TV Docs + Unscripted — Deadline’s Complete Coverage
“The thing that’s important to stress is that when my lesbian moms started a family, there was no precedent.
The three-part series revolves around her upbringing as the daughter of a lesbian couple, Sandy Russo and Robin Young. Back in the late 1970s and early ’80s, couples like Sandy and Robin couldn’t get access to sperm banks if they wanted to start a family, so they relied on friends to recommend possible donors. That worked out fine for Russo and Young until Ry’s biological father, after spending time with the young Ry, became emotionally attached to her, and then sued Ry’s mothers for visitation rights. It turned into a terribly bitter court case.
Contenders TV Docs + Unscripted — Deadline’s Complete Coverage
“The thing that’s important to stress is that when my lesbian moms started a family, there was no precedent.
- 4/23/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
“Have your tissues ready,” warns Nuclear Family director Ry Russo-Young of tonight’s third and final episode of the docuseries about her moms, her sister and herself and the landmark battle for the parental rights of same-sex couples that defined their lives in the 1990s.
Having premiered on the premium cabler September 26, the docuseries from The Sun Is Also a Star helmer examines the legal and media battle Sandy Russo and Robin Young fought in the closing decade of the 20th century to hold on to custody of their daughter from a former friend, who donated sperm and now wanted access to Ry as his own offspring. In an America at the time where the notion of a lesbian family found almost no protection in the courts or the court of public opinion, it was a struggle not just to keep the family together, but also the very notion of their family.
Having premiered on the premium cabler September 26, the docuseries from The Sun Is Also a Star helmer examines the legal and media battle Sandy Russo and Robin Young fought in the closing decade of the 20th century to hold on to custody of their daughter from a former friend, who donated sperm and now wanted access to Ry as his own offspring. In an America at the time where the notion of a lesbian family found almost no protection in the courts or the court of public opinion, it was a struggle not just to keep the family together, but also the very notion of their family.
- 10/10/2021
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
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