The Hulu drama limited series Good American Family released its final episode on April 30. The series tells the true story of Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian-born American girl with Dwarfism. Natalia is adopted and later abandoned by American couple Micheal and Kristine Barnett. Good American Family stars Grey’s Anatomy’s Ellen Pompeo and actor Mark Duplass as Kristine and Michael Barnett and Imogen Faith Reed as Natalia Grace.
The series is told from multiple perspectives, allowing viewers to draw their own conclusions. A legal disclaimer preceding each episode notes that the series “reflects and dramatizes multiple conflicting points of view, and does not intend to suggest that any particular allegation is the whole truth.”
Backstory
Natalia was allegedly abandoned in 2011 by the Barnetts, who allegedly believed she was an adult, and sought a court order proving so. An August 2023 DNA test proved Natalia was approximately 20 years old, making her about eight years old at the time of her alleged abandonment. Her date of birth has since legally been restored to 2003.
After her case was reopened in 2019, the Barnetts were charged with neglect. Michael was acquitted in 2022, and Kristine’s charges were dismissed in 2023.
Good American Family Overview
Natalia Grace is a seven-year-old Ukrainian child born with Dwarfism. She was adopted by an American family, the Barnetts, in 2010. Natalia’s adoptive parents, Michael and Kristine, already have three kids of their own, one of whom has autism. Kristine is an advocate for children with special needs, but her attitude changes when Natalia starts displaying peculiar behavior.
Micheal and Kristine become concerned about Natalia when she begins to act out, including when she covers Kristine’s eyes while’s she’s driving and shows up in Michael and Kristine’s room with a knife. After walking in on her in the bathroom and finding hair “down there” Kristine becomes convinced that Natalia is a grown-up. This belief is further reinforced when a doctor tells Kristine that Natalia may have Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD) or sociopathy, which Kristine believes isn’t possible in children. Michael is reluctant to believe this and initially takes Natalia’s side.
After Kristine takes Natalia to a doctor and seemingly proves that she’s an adult, reinstating her birth year as 1989, Michael takes Kristine’s side, and they drop her off at her own apartment. They promise to provide for her by paying her rent and sending her money, but tell her she’s an adult now and it’s time to take care of herself. It is later revealed in the series that the doctors determined Natalia was a child, but Kristine lied about the results. After Natalia is abandoned, we learn in flashbacks that Kristine was physically abusive, slapping and even punching Natalia.
As to be expected, Natalia has a tough time on her own. Despite being a legal adult at the time, she is still limited by her disability. She can’t cook for herself because she was never taught how; she can’t reach the food in the cabinets due to her dwarfism; she doesn’t know how to open a can of soup; and she can’t get herself into the bathtub because it’s too high to lift herself over.
Natalia is eventually found and taken in by Cynthia (Christina Hendricks) and Antwon Mans (Jerod Haynes.) They offer a place to live and raise her as their child, while helping her fight the Barnetts in court. Natalia wants to legally be her real age, and expose the Barnetts for the abuse they put her through, particularly Kristine.
Allegations of abuse have since come forward against the Mans’.
Natalia ultimately loses her case but seems to win in the court of public opinion. Kristine opens her Facebook to find several comments criticizing her treatment of Natalia, with users calling her a “monster.” Meanwhile, Natalia’s siblings from the Mans’ household show her TikTok comments admiring her for strength, and apologizing for not believing her. Even though the court took the Barnett’s side, it wasn’t enough to convince the public of their innocence.
Review
The strongest performances in Good American Family were definitely given by Ellen Pompeo and Imogen Faith Read in their respective roles. After 20 years and counting of playing lead character and fan favorite Meredith Grey on Grey’s Anatomy, Pompeo proves without a doubt she can handle a villain role. Meanwhile, for such a young actress, Read shows her versatility as an actress to audiences, starting as a sympathetic child, then a temporary villain, and finally makes us feel bad for again at the end when we learn that she’s a good person and just a kid.
While Good American Family was an eye-opening series, it’s not one that I would imagine fans will be adding to their watch rotation due to its sensitive content. However, it’s a series that everyone should watch a least once to understand Natalia Grace’s story and it’s relevance to how American society treats people with disabilities, particularly children.
Perspective
It’s important to remember that Good American Family takes several creative liberties in it’s storytelling, and we can only judge the real-life situation on the facts we know at present. That said, it’s unconscionable to think of abandoning a disabled person, child or adult, in an apartment with no means to take care of themselves. If the Barnetts truly believed Natalia to be as troubled as they thought, there are facilities to handle those situations. Once you take in a child as your own, that child is yours to take care of, just as much as your biological children. You don’t just dispose of them once they become inconvenient.
All episodes of Good American Family are now streaming on Hulu.