Touchy-feely show feels a little like exploitation

If you've seen "The Locator" on WEtv, you've seen ABC's new series "Find My Family." They're pretty much exactly the same show.

Can you say "rip-off"?

"Find" is about people looking for either the parents who gave them up for adoption or the children they gave up for adoption. It's set to dramatic music and full of tears.

And if you're a fan of happy endings that will bring a tear to your eye, you'll probably like "Find My Family" (Monday, 8:30 p.m., Ch. 4).

But … it made me somewhat uncomfortable. I'm not quite sure where the line is drawn between helping people and exploiting people.

These days, an awful lot of people have no problem going on TV and revealing all sorts of personal information and emotions. But, geez, some things ought to be private.

Maybe the price you pay for having the show find your relatives is having the cameras intrude on your reunion. Maybe if you're one of these people, it's worth it.

But "find" goes over the top when the show's producers have their, um, cast members run through a field to meet beneath a "family tree." (That part is really awful.)

And, while we're assured that adoptive parents are on board with all of this, it's hard not to wonder how they'll feel when they see this on national television.

I'm just not sure "Find My Family" is as black and white as ABC and the producers might think it is.

"Find My Family" premieres Monday at 8:30 p.m. with a half-hour episode that follows one family. Beginning Nov. 30, hourlong episodes that feature two families will air Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC/Ch. 4.

— Scott D. Pierce