Having established herself in television history as Dr. Meredith Grey, Ellen Pompeo is now set to make a significant shift with her upcoming venture.
The actress—who has been featured in Grey's Anatomy Since 2005, although she's no longer a full-time castmember - is featured in Hulu's Good American Family Based on the true story involving Natalia Grace. For those unfamiliar with the actual events, Natalia—a 7-year-old girl with dwarfism from Ukraine—was adopted by an American couple, Kristine and Michael Barnett, in 2010 but was returned to an orphanage after just one year when the Barnetts started believing she might be deceptive and possibly older than claimed.
Pompeo, who additionally takes on the role of executive producer, portrays Kristine and stated The Hollywood Reporter at the show On Thursday’s debut, she mentioned following her 20-year tenure as Meredith Grey, “I definitely wanted to explore something entirely distinct from what I’ve been engaged with for such a considerable period, and this opportunity arose.”
She mentioned that she wasn't very familiar with the storyline prior to joining the project, as she hadn't watched it. The Curious Case of Natalia Grace documentary, but "then I got the script and read it and was blown away by the first episode."
The narrative here is intricate, encompassing multiple contrasting perspectives, and the show employs an innovative method to convey this complexity. As explained by co-creator and co-showrunner Katie Robbins, “I conceived the notion of beginning the series from the viewpoint of Kristine and Michael Barnett. At some juncture, however, this changes, causing us to doubt everything we initially took as factual. This shift compels us to confront our inherent prejudices in surprising manners.”
Mark Duplass, who portrays Michael Barnett, mentioned that his decision to join the project stemmed from this particular approach since at first glance, he confesses, “I had doubts. Having heard much about this narrative beforehand, I thought, 'Why should we create yet another television series based on real-life events—why does this one matter beyond being a cash grab? With hundreds of films and TV episodes waiting for our attention, both yours and mine, what’s special here?’ The creators responded brilliantly by pushing back and asking, ‘But how much do you truly understand regarding this tale?’”
The team chose not to interact directly with anyone who was actually part of the tale, relying instead on a thorough research staff providing them information. Fresh face Imogen Faith Reid, aged 27, portrays Natalia, and since she hails from the U.K., she remained unaware of the storyline prior to her auditions.
Of not reaching out to the real-life subject - who is now 21 - Reid added, "I wanted to make sure that I played my own version of Natalia and I wanted to make sure that she was shown with empowerment, that light was seen and just that fight for justice."
Good American Family starts streaming March 19 on Hulu.
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