Fans rave over fact-based Disney Plus drama ‘scarier than any horror movie’

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Fans have been raving over a shocking Disney Plus drama they’re calling ‘scarier than any horror movie’.

Good American Family, starring Grey’s Anatomy actress Ellen Pompeo and The Morning Show’s Mark Duplass, is based on the true story of Natalia Grace.

Natalia was adopted by Indiana couple Kristine (Ellen) and Michael (Mark) in 2010 as a young Ukrainian girl with a form of dwarfism.

They believed her to be six years old at the time, but then accused her of being a sociopathic adult who was ‘masquerading’ as a child.

They alleged she was 22 years old and was a woman with ‘periods, adult teeth and public hair’.

They also accused Natalia of emotionally and physically abusing them, including claiming she tried to ‘kill them’ in their own home.

Their story unfolded in a documentary in 2023, and a follow-up later showed Natalia defending herself against their allegations.

Good American Family stars Grey’s Anatomy actress Ellen Pompeo (Picture: Disney via AP)

Now, it’s been transformed into a Disney+ series that is terrifying US fans ahead of its UK launch.

The synopsis teases: ‘Told from multiple points of view, as a means to explore issues of perspective, bias, and trauma, this compelling drama is inspired by the disturbing stories surrounding a Midwestern couple who adopts a girl with a rare form of dwarfism.

‘But as they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, mystery emerges around her age and background, and they slowly start to suspect she may not be who she says she is.

‘As they defend their family from the daughter they’ve grown to believe is a threat, she fights her own battle to confront her past and what her future holds, in a showdown that ultimately plays out in the tabloids and the courtroom.’

The chilling drama is based on a true story (Picture: AP)

‘#GoodAmericanFamily on Hulu is scarier than any horror movie they’ve ever released omfg YIKES,’ Jiya wrote on X.

‘Nah #GoodAmericanFamily is creey af,’ @_iparker_ added.

‘Only on episode 1 of #GoodAmericanFamily and I already have chills,’ Ronnie said.

Amylee added: ‘This show is addictively good, a little creepy…. I would be acting the same way as aka Meredith!! @PompeoLatest.’

Viewers have called it ‘scarier than any horror movie’ (Picture: Ser Baffo/Disney via AP)

Critics have also praised the eight-part series, with Variety’s Alison Herman writing: ‘There’s just enough harrowing sorrow, eye-popping oddity and acting — whether good or hammy, there’s undeniably a lot of it — to make for a transfixing watch.’

The Daily Beast’s Nick Schager said: ‘It’s a mad and messy saga recounted from duelling perspectives—both of which are nothing shy of outrageous.’

Ellen recently spoke about the drama, saying: ‘I just thought taking this on would be a land mine.’

The series stars Ellen and Mark Duplass as adoptive parents to Imogen Faith Reid’s character Natalia Grace (Picture: Rob Latour/Shutterstock)

She told Vanity Fair: ‘This is a scary thing for me to even entertain because it’s intense stuff, and it deals with children and it deals with children who are neurodivergent and have disabilities.

‘This just seems like really tricky stuff.’

In the documentary last year, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, Natalia was revealed to be around 22 years old, suggesting she was nine when adopted in 2010.

In the documentary she said: ‘This one little piece of paper throws every single lie that the Barnetts has said right into the trash with a match.

‘This is so big. Because literally, this has been 13 years of just two people lying their butts off. They ruined a kid’s life. They painted [me] as some big monster.’

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‘It just proves that I was not lying about my age.

‘They ignored everything that was pointing to the truth just so they could create this stupid lie.’

She added: ‘They knew it and they still did what they did.’

In 2012, two years after adopting Natalia, Kristine and Michael petitioned for her age to legally be changed to 22 and the following year moved to Canada without her, leaving her in an apartment.

Although they were initially charged with neglect of a dependent, Michael was found not guilty while charges against his wife were dropped.

Good American Family premiered on March 19 on Hulu in the US and will launch on Disney+ in the UK and internationally on May 7.

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