Ellen Pompeo stars in this bizarre Disney drama
It makes a series just a bit more interesting, those words ‘based on true events’. Especially when the story seems too bizarre to be true. This is exactly the case with the new Disney+ series ‘Good American Family’. The crime drama dives into the adoption of Natalia Grace, who is accused of lying about her true identity and especially her age. The question remains: who is telling the truth?
A not so perfect family
Kristine (Ellen Pompeo) and Michael Barnett (Mark Duplass) live with their three sons in the American state of Indiana. The couple decides to adopt 7-year-old Natalia Grace (Imogen Faith Reid), a girl born in Ukraine who suffers from a rare form of dwarfism. While Natalia is lovingly welcomed into the family at first, distrust quickly arises, especially from mother Kristine. She begins to doubt her adopted daughter's true identity and suspects her of being much older than she claims. That's not all: she is also convinced that Natalia has malicious intentions and poses a threat to the family. They end up in a complicated battle for the truth, which the tabloids also get involved in. The situation spirals out of control, and the Barnetts go to court. There, they manage to officially change Natalia's birth year from 2003 to 1989. The parents move with their three sons to Canada, leaving the girl behind. But when Natalia is evicted a year later and the police get involved, Kristine and Michael are accused of neglect, and the battle goes back to the court.
The real inspiration
The story of ‘Good American Family’ is based on the true story of Natalia Grace. Although many things, such as the names of the characters, are accurate, the story is somewhat dramatized here and there; after all, it is a series and not a documentary. The creators have tried to incorporate various perspectives, threats, interpretations, and accusations, all to present the conflicting stories of the different main characters as clearly as possible.
Where is Natalia now?
After Natalia was abandoned by the Barnett family, she was taken in by Antwon and Cynthia Mans. The couple had previously taken in and adopted children. According to Cynthia, Kristine based her accusations on the movie ‘Orphan’, which was released a year before Natalia's adoption. In the film, the Coleman family adopts nine-year-old Esther, but it soon becomes clear that the girl is actually an adult woman posing as a child. The Mans family trusts Natalia and the girl is fully integrated into the family. She participates in their religious lifestyle and helps care for the other children; she is even officially adopted. Meanwhile, the case against the Barnetts continues, although both Kristine and Michael are ultimately acquitted. In 2023, new DNA tests determine that Natalia must be around 20 years old at that time, which means she had been telling the truth about her age. Her birth year has officially been changed back to 2003. However, this does not mean the end of all drama. The Mans family is meanwhile accused of controlling Natalia and forbidding her to have contact with the outside world. With the help of her boyfriend Neil, whom she met on Facebook, she manages to get in touch with the DePaul family; a family with dwarfism that had tried to adopt her in 2009 but was then rejected. For months, they work on a plan to get Natalia away from the Mans family, which succeeds just before Christmas 2023. For a while, Cynthia and Antwon try to get her back, but by now it seems that there is finally peace. Natalia still lives with the DePauls, is in a relationship with Neil, and is studying to become a teacher. She finally feels free. Her entire story is also featured in the documentary series ‘The Curious Case of Natalia Grace’ on HBO Max.
We still have to be patient for the new version of Disney+. ‘Good American Family’ will be available from March 19.
Image: Hulu / Disney+
