# No Ordinary Family (2010)

> After a plane crash in the Amazon, the Powell family of California discovers that each member has gained a different superpower.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/30124

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 20
- Episode runtime: 42 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: drama, science fiction, comedy
- Created by: Greg Berlanti, Jon Harmon Feldman
- Network: ABC
- Cast: Michael Chiklis, Julie Benz, Kay Panabaker, Autumn Reeser, Jimmy Bennett, Stephen Collins, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Tricia Helfer
- TMDB rating: 6.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1591493/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: hopeful, warm, breezy, comforting, light

## What critics say

Audiences found the family superhero premise lighthearted and watchable but the series was mixed overall and was canceled after one season.

## Synopsis

No Ordinary Family (2010-2011) is an American broadcast superhero family drama created by Greg Berlanti and Jon Harmon Feldman for ABC. Michael Chiklis plays Jim Powell, a father whose household is thrown into upheaval after a plane crash in the Amazon River leaves each member with unexpected abilities. Julie Benz co-stars as his wife Stephanie, alongside Kay Panabaker as their teenage daughter Daphne and Jimmy Bennett as younger son J.J., who each wrestle with their new powers. The engine of the show is simple and domestic: the Powells want to keep their suburban California life intact while hiding what they can now do from neighbors, school, and work. Each episode tends to combine a self-contained power-of-the-week problem with ongoing family tensions, and the single season of twenty episodes was never extended beyond its initial run. Its register is light and warm, with comic moments around awkward adolescence and marriage, though the stakes remain grounded in family loyalty. Fans of Heroes and The Incredibles will find resonance in its blend of ordinary life and extraordinary gifts, and viewers who like family-friendly superhero comedy-drama will feel at home in its gentle, hopeful atmosphere.

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