c/found-family-fiction

My coworker said he only watches shows where the friend group saves the day

We were grabbing coffee yesterday and he mentioned he skips any plot where the main character has to fix everything alone. He said, 'If the squad isn't solving it together, I'm out.' It made me realize I've been overlooking how much I actually crave that team dynamic in stories. What's a book or movie where the group's bond is the actual solution to the big problem?

Watched a show about a crew on a spaceship and it hit way too close to home

I finally got around to watching 'The Bear' and the found family thing hit different

My old laptop's hinge gave out last week, so I was stuck on the couch with my tablet, binging the whole first season. The way that kitchen crew slowly becomes each other's real support system, especially after the funeral episode, felt more genuine than a lot of other shows. What's a show where the found family dynamic actually made you feel something?

My reading habits shifted after I binged 'The Expanse' last winter

I used to only pick books about solo heroes on big quests. After watching the crew of the Rocinante become a real family over nine seasons, I started looking for that group bond. Now, I actively search for stories where the team is the heart of it, like 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' or 'Six of Crows'. The change happened because I realized I cared more about how the characters connected than the big plot twists. It's made finding new stuff to read way more fun. What's a show or book where the found family aspect totally hooked you?

Question about a bookstore display in Boise

I was at the big used bookstore on State Street last weekend and they had a whole shelf labeled 'Found Family' with books like The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and The House in the Cerulean Sea. I always thought that theme was just for kids' shows, but seeing it all laid out like that made me want to give one a try. Which book from that kind of shelf would be a good first pick for someone new to the idea?

Finished my 50th rewatch of 'The West Wing' and the found family hit different this time

I've been putting it on as background noise for years, but I actually sat down and counted the episodes this month. The way the senior staff in the Oval Office covers for each other, argues like siblings, and shows up in personal crises feels more real than some blood families I know. Does the found family dynamic work better in shows about high-stakes jobs, or in stories about regular people thrown together?

My wife convinced me to watch 'The Bear' and I was sure the kitchen crew drama would be annoying, but the way they became a real unit by season 2, especially after the Christmas episode, completely won me over.

Has anyone else had a show they resisted that ended up being a perfect found family story?

Everyone says the found family in 'The Raven Cycle' is perfect, but I think they're wrong

I kept hearing how the friend group in those books is the best example of found family. After reading them twice, I felt like they were just a bunch of rich kids being dramatic. So last month, I forced my book club to read 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' by Becky Chambers instead. The crew on the Wayfarer actually has to work together and earn their bonds through shared hardship, not just shared trauma. It completely changed the discussion. Has anyone else found a sci-fi crew that works better as a found family than a typical fantasy group?

My book club's attempt at a themed night for 'The House in the Cerulean Sea' went a bit off the rails

We decided to make the 'sparkling cider' the book mentions, but my friend mixed up the bottles and used the kind that's meant for cooking, not drinking. It happened right before our meeting last Tuesday. We all took a sip and it tasted like sweet vinegar, which led to a lot of coughing and laughing. Has anyone else had a group activity for a found family story go hilariously wrong?

I was at the library in my old neighborhood and saw a whole new shelf for 'found family' stories.

It made me think about how we used to just call them good books about friends. Has anyone read a good one lately that really got that feeling right?

Rant: I gave up on finding a new show to watch and just rewatched Leverage for the third time

I was feeling pretty down last week and nothing new on the streaming services was clicking. So I went back to the old crew of grifters on Leverage. The way they all start as a job and end up a family, arguing over takeout in the bar, gets me every single time. It's a comfort watch that always works. What's your go-to found family show when you need a pick-me-up?

Watching the 'found family' in 'The Expanse' fall apart in season 3 hit me hard

I was on my couch last week when the Rocinante crew had that huge fight after the Behemoth incident, with Amos nearly walking away for good. It felt so real because they'd been through so much together, and seeing them split up over different goals was rough. What's a moment in a show where the found family almost broke that really got to you?

I looked up the actual number of people in the 'found family' on the show Leverage

I was rewatching the show and got curious about the main crew. I always just thought of it as a five person team. But I found a fan wiki that broke it down, and they counted 8 core members across all five seasons, including some who joined later. That's a bigger group than I remembered. It made me think about how the show slowly built this whole network of people who had each other's backs. The found family didn't just stay the original five, it grew. Has anyone else had a show where the family group got bigger than you first thought?

Just finished two shows back to back and one got the found family thing so right

I watched the new space crew show 'Nova Echo' and then binged 'The Last Garage' on a friend's tip. Both are about groups stuck together, but the difference was huge. 'Nova Echo' had them all being best friends from episode two, which felt fake. 'The Last Garage' took its time. There's this one scene where the mechanic, after three weeks of working together, quietly fixes the cook's broken radio without being asked. It wasn't a big speech, just a small act that showed he was paying attention. That show built the family feeling through those tiny, quiet moments of help, not just saying they were a team. The other one felt like it was checking a box. Has anyone else seen a show where the found family felt earned because of the small stuff, not the big talks?

I just finished my 50th found family story and it hit me

I keep a list on my phone of every book or show I read that fits this theme. I added a new one last night, a quiet sci-fi book called 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet', and my count ticked over to 50. That number really got me. I started this list maybe five years ago after a rough patch where my own friend group felt scattered. I guess I was looking for that feeling in stories. Seeing 50 entries made me realize how much I lean on these plots, not for escape, but almost like a blueprint. They show all the different ways people can choose to stick together, from a crew on a spaceship to a bunch of kids solving mysteries in a small town. It's the specific, quiet moments that get me, like sharing a meal after a hard day or someone just showing up without being asked. Has anyone else found themselves drawn to a certain number of these stories, and did it make you see your own life a bit differently?

TIL my local library's book club was the found family I didn't know I needed

I moved to a new city and felt totally alone for about three months. I saw a flyer for a sci-fi book club at the library and forced myself to go, even though I'm shy. We read 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' and the whole group just clicked, arguing about the characters like they were real people. Now we meet for coffee outside the club, and I finally get what 'found family' feels like in real life. Has anyone else found their people through a shared story like that?

Choosing between a book club and a D&D group turned into a found family thing

I had to pick between joining a serious book club at the library or a friend's chaotic D&D campaign. I went with the D&D group, and after six months, my character's fake uncle, a guy named Greg who runs a tavern, has given me more life advice than my real relatives. Has anyone else found their people in a totally unexpected place like that?

The found family in 'The Locked Tomb' series felt way more real to me after book three

Honestly, I read Gideon the Ninth a couple years ago and thought the group was just a bunch of rivals stuck together. But after finishing Nona the Ninth last month, I saw a total shift. Over the three books, the characters went from trying to kill each other to basically being a messed-up, ride-or-die family. The big change happened because they kept surviving impossible, awful stuff together for what felt like years in their timeline. It made me think the best found families aren't the ones that start out nice, but the ones that earn it through shared trauma. Does a found family feel more real to you when they have to work for it, or when they just click right away?

I used to skip the first few episodes of a show, but it cost me a great found family story

I started watching this space show everyone talked about, but I almost quit after two episodes because the crew just seemed like coworkers. My friend in Boston told me to push through to episode 5, 'The Dinner Scene'. I did, and that's when you see them all really talk for the first time, not as a team but as people. It completely changed the whole show for me. Has anyone else had a show where the found family moment hits at a specific point like that?

Watching a certain crew's goodbye scene in a coffee shop made me feel things

I was at the local library catching up on the show 'Leverage', specifically the season 2 finale where the team says goodbye in that diner. Seeing them, a bunch of former strangers, choose each other over going their separate ways hit me way harder than I expected. Does a specific found family 'goodbye that isn't' scene from any show or book just wreck you every time?

I finally watched that show everyone was talking about, 'The Bear'

The line 'I see you' from the Christmas episode hit me so hard, because it's not about blood, it's about seeing someone's whole mess and staying. What other shows have a moment like that?

Just realized I was totally wrong about the found family trope in shows

I used to think it was just a cheesy way to end a story, but watching the crew on The Expanse stick together through the whole series changed my mind. Seeing them choose each other over and over, like when Naomi risked everything to get back to the Rocinante, made it feel real. What's a show where the found family bond actually surprised you?

My whole book club almost fell apart over a character death

We were at my place in Cincinnati, about eight of us, and the argument got so loud my neighbor texted to ask if we were okay. It was over a main character dying in the third book of a series we all loved. Two people were ready to quit the group entirely. I just paused and said, 'But the whole POINT is the family they built keeps going, right?' We talked it out for an hour and decided to finish the series together. Has your group ever had a huge fight over a story choice?

Can we talk about how the found family in 'The Expanse' starts with a stolen ship?

I finally watched the whole show last month, and the crew of the Rocinante felt like a real group of friends from the start. But in the first book, they're basically strangers thrown together by a huge mess on the Canterbury. The show made them feel like a family way faster... it changed the whole feel. Has anyone else noticed how different shows handle that first 'click' moment?

Found out the 'found family' in my favorite show was almost a bunch of strangers

I was listening to a podcast about the show 'The Good Place' and the host said something that blew my mind. He mentioned that in the original script for the pilot, Eleanor and Chidi were supposed to be total strangers who just got stuck together by chance. The whole 'soulmate' system was a late addition. I had to look it up, and sure enough, an interview with Mike Schur confirmed it. That means the core four, the whole family they become, was almost not a family at all. It was just a random group of people in a waiting room. It makes you realize how much of the show's heart came from that one change. They literally built the family on purpose. Has anyone else had a show's origin story change how you see the characters?