Grey's Anatomy's Ellen Pompeo's new TV series Good American Family looks into a shocking true-life story about a family's decision to adopt a girl with dwarfism, and the dramatic events that followed.
The TV series is based on the story of the life of Natalia Grace, who was born with dwarfism in Ukraine and adopted by American couple Kristine and Michael Barnett – Ellen and Mark Duplass will play these adoptive parents.
The Barnetts accused Natalia of being older than she claimed to be, and that she used her dwarfism to disguise the fact she was an older woman, leading to petition the court to re-age her.
According to the Daily Mail, the Barnett family accused Natalia of threatening to stab them in their sleep, attempting to poison her coffee and trying to push Kristine. into an electric fence. Natalia denied all of these accusations. After leaving Natalia to live in an apartment alone and relocating to Canada, the Barnetts were then accused of neglect. It was also discovered that Natalia was, in fact, a nine-year-old girl when she was adopted, after a medical laboratory looked into the case for a documentary named The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.
It depicts a 40-year-old woman's steamy fling with a young hipster.
Ellen has opened up about her reasoning behind accepting such a complex role. “This is a scary thing for me to even entertain because it’s intense stuff, and it deals with children and it deals with children who are neurodivergent and have disabilities,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
“I definitely wanted to do something that was completely different from what I’ve been doing for a long time and this came along," she said, adding that while she hadn't seen the documentary, "I got the script and read it and was blown away by the first episode.”
Ellen has also opened up about her hopes for the series encouraging all of us to challenge our biases. “I want people just to think about how they look at things and what kind of judgements they make based on the way people look,” she said. “I think we just need to check our own biases and question why we believe what we believe.”
Here's what we know about Good American Family, including where you can watch it.
Good American Family plot
“Told from multiple points of view, as a means to explore issues of perspective, bias, and trauma, this compelling drama is inspired by the disturbing stories surrounding a Midwestern couple who adopts a girl with a rare form of dwarfism,” the plot synopsis for the TV series reads.
“But as they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, mystery emerges around her age and background, and they slowly start to suspect she may not be who she says she is. As they defend their family from the daughter they’ve grown to believe is a threat, she fights her own battle to confront her past and what her future holds, in a showdown that ultimately plays out in the tabloids and the courtroom.”
How to watch Good American Family in the UK
All eight episodes of the series will drop on Disney+.
Good American Family release date
It will drop on Disney+ 7th May in the UK and internationally.
Good American Family cast
Joining Ellen Pompeo on the show's cast will be The Morning Show's Mark Duplass, Imogen Faith Reid, Suits star Dulé Hill, Christina Hendricks, Sarayu Blue and Jenny O’Hara.
Imogen will play Natalia, while Ellen and Mark will play her adoptive parents.
Good American Family trailer
The trailer sets the story up, with Ellen's Kristine keen to be a great mother and build the perfect family. But things all begin to unravel after a short time, with Kristine beginning to suspect that Natalia isn't, in fact, a young girl and accuses her of planning an elaborate con.
