The True Story Underpinning Ellen Pompeo’s New Thriller, Good American Family

Ellen Pompeo has finally left her Grey’s Anatomy era. Her first role? An eight-part Hulu thriller entitled Good American Family – all based on a true story. Here’s what you need to know, plus when it’ll land on Disney+ in the UK.

Good American Family: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

Mark Duplass & Ellen Pompeo in Good American Family. (Hulu)

What Is Good American Family About?

Good American Family centres on Kristine and Michael Barnett (Ellen Pompeo and Mark Duplass), a couple who adopt a young girl called Natalia Grace (Imogen Faith Reid), who has a rare form of dwarfism. But as they integrate Natalia into the family and raise her alongside their three biological children, Kristine and Michael begin to suspect the girl might not be who they’ve been led to believe she is. Questions emerge around her age and background, and the parents are forced to protect their biological children from the adopted daughter they’ve grown to believe is a threat. Meanwhile, Natalia fights her own battles with her tumultuous past, culminating in a showdown that plays out in the tabloids and courts.

Rather than a simple narrative, Hulu teases Good American Family will be ‘told from multiple points of view, as a means to explore issues of perspective, bias and trauma’. Hopefully, then, all of Natalia’s sinister behaviour will come with a flipped perspective: how the Barnetts treated her.

The Trailer

The Cast

• Ellen Pompeo as Kristine Barnett
• Mark Duplass as Michael Barnett
• Imogen Faith Reid as Natalia Grace
• Dulé Hill as Detective Brandon Drysdale
• Sarayu Blue as Valika
• Christina Hendricks as Cynthia Mans

Imogen Faith Reid in Good American Family. (Hulu)

Is Good American Family Based On A True Story?

Yes, Good American Family is based on a real story and very real people: Natalia Grace is a real Ukrainian-born American who was adopted by the American Barnett family in 2010 at the age of seven, before being abandoned by them in 2011 when they successfully sought a court order to legally change her birth year from 1989 to 2003.

The Barnetts claimed Natalia displayed sociopathic tendencies, was violent and was plotting to kill the entire family – forcing them to scrutinise her age and ultimately ask a court to legally change it. Done and dusted, they packed up their lives with their biological children and moved to Canada, leaving Natalia alone in an apartment in Lafayette, Indiana.

The story bears stark resemblances to the 2009 horror film Orphan, which critics have cited as an influence for the real Barnett family. And in the Good American Family trailer, Hulu seems to run with the idea that Natalia is a crazed, violent villain. In reality, Natalia Grace’s biological age was eventually restored to 2003 after a court battle with the Barnetts; her biological mother was tracked down, as were the hospital records ratifying her 2003 birth in Ukraine. All of this is explored in more detail in the docuseries The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.

Where Was It Filmed?

Good American Family was filmed in Santa Clarita, California in summer 2024.

Dulé Hill, Imogen Faith Reid & Christina Hendricks in Good American Family. (Hulu)

Release Date

Good American Family will premiere with a double bill on Wednesday 19 March 2025. New episodes will then arrive weekly.

Good American Family Release Schedule

The series is made up of eight episodes released weekly on Wednesdays on Hulu after a two-episode premiere on 19 March. The release schedule is as follows:

• Episode 1: Wednesday 19 March
• Episode 2: Wednesday 19 March
• Episode 3: Wednesday 26 March
• Episode 4: Wednesday 2 April
• Episode 5: Wednesday 9 April
• Episode 6: Wednesday 16 April
• Episode 7: Wednesday 23 April
• Episode 8: Wednesday 30 April

How To Watch In The UK

As with most Hulu series, in the UK, Good American Family will be available to stream on Disney+. However, all eight episodes will land at once on 7 May, a week after the finale airs in the US.