Family Rules is an up close and personal observational documentary that provides an exclusive insight into the world of a modern Indigenous family. In this six part series follow the matriarch of the Rule family, Daniella and her nine daughters Angela, Shenika, Helen, Kelly, Kiara, Sharna, Aleisha, Jessica and Hannah navigate their way through adolescence and adulthood as their mother tries to teach them life lessons. Daniella is raising them all on her own after the tragic death of her husband following a one-hit "coward punch" in 2014.
Like most families, the Rule's deal with the highs and lows of living in chaos with siblings. Family Rules will either take you back to your childhood or make you feel like you're watching your own family struggle with daily dramas. If you've ever had to find the perfect dress for the school formal, this show is for you. If you've ever moved out of home for the first time or watched your chickens leave the nest, this show is for you.
It explores not only grappling with adolesence but also the journey of identification and culture, and the experience of revisiting country and elders. It provides an insight into the confusing transition of high school to planning a future and selecting a suitable career and most importantly it enables everyone an understanding of the process of healing when times are tough. Navigating life in a family of nine presents its own unique challenges and when the rules are broken, everyone has something to say.
EPISODE ONE: Monday 9 January, 7.30pm
Aleisha Rule is the cheeky seventh sister in a family of nine girls. Her school formal is weeks away. Aleisha has grown up watching her older sisters getting glammed up for their proms, so finding the perfect dress is important. She uses teenage charm to convince her sisters and mother to help pay for her dress as well as an extensive list of extras.
EPISODE TWO: Tuesday 10 January, 7.30pm
Jessica Rule is the sweet-natured eighth sister in a family of nine girls. But at 14 years old, she is looking for a little freedom. Having watched her seven older sisters become young women, Jessica reckons it is her turn to experiment. Dyeing her hair blonde seems a perfect way to start. Jessica’s desire to grow up sets a challenge for Daniella’s approach to parenting.
EPISODE THREE: Wednesday 11 January, 7.30pm
It’s time for the city girls to put their social media on hold. With their mother Daniella and Nanna Doreen, the younger Rule sisters go on a road trip to Badjaling in Western Australia to better understand where they come from. They’re off to explore their culture, their country and to meet their elders.
EPISODE FOUR: Monday 16 January, 7.30pm
Annoyed by her sisters constantly touching her stuff, Sharna decides to move in with her elder sister, Kelly. However under Kelly’s rules, you still have to share. For mum Daniella, it’s time to see another of her girls leave the nest. This causes her to reflect on losing her husband to a fatal coward punch.
EPISODE FIVE: Tuesday 17 January, 7.30pm
Looking to her future, Jessica, 14, considers a modelling career like her second eldest sister Shenika, 27. Shenika takes Jess under her wing and guides her to deportment classes to see if she would be suited to a career in high heels. It’s smiles all around at the end of Jess’s first go at modelling in front of an audience: she loves it.
EPISODE SIX: Wednesday 18 January, 7.30pm
All the nine Rule girls – together with their mum Daniella, Nanna Doreen and the girls’ own young children – head into the heart of Western Australia. They’re going to their father’s resting place in Nagdju country - on the edge of the Nullarbor - to conduct a special ceremony. On this poignant road trip, emotions are stirred as they meet with family members and learn more about their father and his culture.
Family Rules airs on Monday 9 January, 7.30pm on NITV Ch. 34
