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- The Russell family is a fictional family depicted on the American soap opera Passions, which aired on NBC (1999–2007) and later on DirecTV (2007–2008). The family was created by the soap's founder and head writer James E. Reilly; it originally consisted of four characters—the married couple Eve and T. C. Russell, and their children Whitney and Simone. The Russells are one of the four core families in the fictional town of Harmony, and are characterized by their friendship with the Bennetts and Lopez-Fitzgeralds and their feud with the Cranes. As the series progressed, four more characters were added to the family: Eve's vengeful, adoptive sister Liz Sanbourne; Eve's child with Julian Crane, Vincent Clarkson; Whitney's husband and Liz's son, Chad Harris-Crane; and Eve's aunt Irma Johnson. Most of the characters left during the show's transition from NBC to DirecTV, leaving Eve and Vincent as the only representatives of the Russell family in the series finale. The characters initially received negative feedback for their representation of an African-American family. They were praised by cast members, but Rodney Van Johnson, who played T. C., felt they were not used to their full potential. Despite the criticism, the cast was frequently nominated for NAACP Image Awards and featured prominently in a series of public service announcements for Black History Month in 2003. The Russell family also drew media and critical attention for storylines involving various LGBT topics: Chad Harris-Crane's affair with Vincent and subsequent confusion about his sexual orientation, Simone's coming out as lesbian to her family, and the revelation that Vincent was intersex. While the show's treatment of sexual and gender identity has received mixed feedback from critics, Passions won the award for Outstanding Daily Drama at the 17th GLAAD Media Awards. (en)
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