Ellen Pompeo has been helping others at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital for two decades. Now, her caregiving tendencies transcend into her latest role as Kirsten Barnett in the limited series Good American Family, where Kirsten and her husband Michael (Mark Duplass) help save a Ukrainian orphan.
Their new daughter, Natalia Grace (Imogen Faith Reid), claims to be an 8-year-old suffering from a rare form of dwarfism.
But, as drama fans know, no good deed goes unpunished, and soon after adopting, the couple begins to suspect that their Good American Family may be anything but.
For horror fans, this may sound familiar. The limited series is similar to the 2009 movie Orphan, in which a family’s newly adopted daughter turns out to be a murderer suffering from a condition that makes her look like a child.
While Orphan was not based on a true story, is Good American Family? Keep reading to find out more.
Is Good American Family based on a true story?
The Hulu trailer explains the inspiration behind Good American Family: stories, perspectives, threats, interpretations and accusations.
The complicated story of Natalia Grace is based on actual events, but with conflicting accounts from both parties, it has been a battle to decide whose truth is accurate.
Today spoke with co-showrunner Katie Robbins, who said the series drew specifically from Facebook messages, text messages, depositions, medical records, and adoption records; Robbins stated, “I can’t even describe how many documents we were looking through.” The case was on record due to different accounts and inconsistent evidence.
Today also noted that the series was not in contact with the real people portrayed. Robbins explained, “This made having the copious amounts of research that we have that much more essential,” she said.
According to Time, some confirmed events from reality are brought directly to the screen. One consequential part of the story is when Natalia’s birth certificate is officially altered, changing her age from 8 to 22 years old, a moment that appeared on the show. The Barnetts then put her into an apartment on her own. In real life, the Barnetts were charged with neglecting a dependent but were not convicted.
Before Good American Family, the docu-series The Curious Case of Natalia Grace revealed that Natalia underwent testing to prove her age, which confirmed her to be 9 years old. In a clip from the show, she held the results and said, “This one single piece of paper throws every single lie that the Barnetts have said right into the trash with a match.” While Michael appeared in the docuseries in support of Natalia, Kristen remained completely silent.
While the case is complex, it is almost sure that the lives of everyone involved have faced lasting negative consequences.
Good American Family is now streaming on Hulu.
The post Is ‘Good American Family’ Based On A True Story? appeared first on Decider.
