Down on his luck in love and life, having recently lost his job and girlfriend, 30-year-old Tom Chadwick has an unsure sense of his own identity. But when he inherits a mysterious box, Tom starts investigating his lineage and uncovers a world of unusual stories and characters, acquiring a growing sense of who he and his entire family are. FAMILY TREE kicks off its eight-episode season SUNDAY, MAY 12 (10:30-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO, followed by other episodes subsequent Sundays at the same time.
Written and created by Christopher Guest & Jim Piddock, the new comedy series is a single-camera, documentary-style show in the manner of Guest’s acclaimed feature films (such as “Best in Show,” “Waiting for Guffman” and “A Mighty Wind”). Chris O’Dowd (“Bridesmaids”) stars as Tom Chadwick in the HBO presentation, along with Tom Bennett and Nina Conti. The series also features appearances by Carrie Aizley, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley, Jr., Maria Blasucci, Matt Griesser, Christopher Guest, Don Lake, Michael McKean, Lisa Palfrey, Jim Piddock, Kevin Pollak, Amy Seimetz, Meera Syal, Ashley Walters and Fred Willard.
Tom Chadwick (O’Dowd) has been bequeathed an old chest of curios by his great aunt Victoria. With the help of his sister, Bea (Conti), best friend Pete (Bennett) and friendly neighbor Mr. Pfister (Piddock), as well as many other well-meaning but unconventional characters, Tom embarks on his quest to learn more, following leads and clues in London that eventually bring him to the United States.