Good American Family Is the #2 Show on Hulu, but Is It Really Worth Watching?

The story of Natalia Grace has captured the attention of the media for many years: court cases, sensational statements from both sides of the conflict, multiple versions of events – all of this has long been public knowledge.

Hulu's new adaptation, Good American Family, tells the same story, but with a greater emphasis on the viewer's emotional involvement.

To surprise viewers, real-life circumstances are intertwined with fictional fragments, and real people become dramatically exaggerated characters.

What Is Good American Family About?

The Barnetts adopt a seven-year-old girl, Natalia Grace, who has a rare form of dwarfism. Kristine, the family's mother, is inspired by the prospect of helping the child. But from her first days in the house, Natalia begins to behave strangely.

And while Michael adores his adopted daughter, forgiving her for the torn toy of his youngest son and the knife under the bed, Kristine becomes more and more suspicious.

Soon she decides that the girl is lying about her age and may even be a threat to the family. Gradually, concern turns to fear, and fear turns to something much more terrifying.

Good American Family Explores History From Different Perspectives

The authors deliberately refuse a subjective view and share details of different versions: first we see the story through the eyes of the couple, then from Natalia's point of view.

In the first episodes, Natalia is presented as a child who frightens her adoptive parents – the series uses thriller and even horror elements. Kristine keeps finding the insides of toys under the bed and household chemicals in a cup of coffee – Natalia becomes an Orphan.

But the second half of the show changes the optics, showing Natalia as a victim and the Barnetts as people who either were cruelly mistaken or deliberately made the child look like a monster.

The Series Doesn't Care about the Moral Side of the Story

Good American Family gives a voice to every participant in the trial, turning a real-life story into an eight-episode show in which the story is still full of mystery, but the narrative itself is much closer to the viewer.

Following in the footsteps of true-crime aficionado Ryan Murphy, the showrunners leave out the moral and ethical considerations of what it is like for Natalia and other participants in the trial to be the subject of years of intense media attention.

Good American Family Is Not a Retelling of Facts, but a Subjective Interpretation

The most important lesson the show teaches is that the truth is always more complicated than it seems. And the truth is that no one in the story is an outright villain – everyone carries the burden of mistakes and consequences.

And the truth is that we will never know what really happened behind the closed door, who held the knife, or when the point of no return was crossed.