happy and unhappy families in art

Watching a "This Is Us," I come to a realization:  the big difference between scripted drama and unscripted (reality shows, daytime talk shows, all that) hinges on a false but compelling observation by Tolstoy.

"All happy families are alike;  each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

Scripted drama still adheres to this.    ("This Is Us" does so with just the right recipe of grandeur and detail and tenderness and severity.)    Time after time, we're presented with people who are lovable but flawed and whose flaws create the germ of the drama, always threatening to capsize things and sometimes succeeding.

Reality TV, though, has shattered this cozy illusion.    We now know that Tolstoy had it wrong (in a way, if you squint):  unhappy people and families are leadenly, stultifyingly, numbingly alike.    Happy people and families are quirky, odd, a delicious blast in their uniqueness.