Hulu Review: ‘Good American Family’ is a Dark Drama about Children, Justice, and the Many Definitions of Family

Not everyone is meant to be a parent. But there are also those who are perfectly willing to take care of a child who’s seen as normal and easy, but aren’t up for the challenge of dealing with someone with more particular needs. Along the same lines, there are two sides to every story, though they may not each have the same merit. Good American Family is a ripped-from-the-headlines look at a very unfortunate situation for all parties involved with more than a few red flags that could have made things a lot better if only for more considered humanity along the way.

Kristine (Ellen Pompeo) and Michael Barnett (Mark Duplass) have three children at home and decide to adopt a fourth child. They’re initially quite warm with Natalia (Imogen Faith Reid), but things soon grow sour as Kristine finds herself unable to cope with Natalia’s disruptive behavior. She’s also very disturbed by the fact that the supposedly eight-year-old girl living in her house seems like she may actually be much older, resulting in a regrettable chain of events that, upon further reflection, and as eventually seen from Natalia’s point of view, constitutes a true cruelty that no one deserves.

This series is notable as the first new TV role for Grey’s Anatomy star Pompeo since that show started two decades ago. It’s something very different for her, absent any of the flirtation and medical jargon, with her portraying a woman who wants to present as successful and smart while also seeming personable and charitable. Kristine’s relationship with her subservient husband leaves much to be desired, and while she does dote on the children she likes, including her autistic son Jacob, the viciousness with which she responds to Natalia, regardless of whether it’s provoked, is still jarring. This is definitely a rebranding for Pompeo, who, after twenty years getting top billing in one of the most popular shows out there, wants to show that she’s capable of doing something radically unexpected.

This show’s multiple perspectives should be familiar to fans of The Affair, which shouldn’t come as a surprise since creator Katie Robbins, whose last project was the short-lived Apple TV+ series Sunny starring Rashida Jones, was part of that series’ writing staff. It’s not clearly delineated here but anyone watching should be able to gather within a few minutes given who it paints in a positive light and whose experience it embellishes. It’s an interesting strategy since a viewer who tunes in for just the show’s two-episode series premiere will have a very limited impression of the overall scope that the successive six episodes offer.

Pompeo is surrounded by a talented ensemble that helps to build a more coherent and complex story that leaves plenty of room for interpretation. Duplass, an Emmy nominee for The Morning Show, offers a desolate and occasionally sympathetic portrayal of a father unable to fend for himself against his successful, domineering wife and who, as a result, accepts little to no responsibility for his actions. Sarayu Blue, Dulé Hill, and Christina Hendricks contribute memorably as adults involved to varying degrees with Natalia’s journey with the Barnetts. The show’s true shining star is Reid, who, after working as a double in several films and television shows, makes an assured acting debut that makes it possible to wrestle with Natalia’s motivations and whether she understands the truth and severity of what’s going on around her.

Over the course of eight episodes, Good American Family, whose title references the repeated assertion that this is what the Barnetts are, and Natalia should be lucky to have crossed paths with them, tells an unnerving tale of a dramatic miscarriage of justice with many parties partially to blame. It leaves some questions unanswered up to and even beyond the end credits, opening each episode with a disclaimer that this is based on the accounts of the real people involved. It’s an undeniably intriguing and insightful project about what we’re primed to believe and accept that will still likely leave audiences wanting to definitively know more, something that both this series and real life can’t quite offer.

Series Rating: 6/10