Good American Family - First two episodes

Good American Family isn't a bad show, but it feels a bit like one of a dozen. I don't know if this applies to more people, but I was actually only curious about this series because of Ellen Pompeo. Of course, we all know Pompeo as Meredith Grey, the role she has played for 21 years in the long-running hospital series Grey's Anatomy. Her role in Good American Family is her first other role since she started on that series. So I was very curious about what that would be like. The series itself seemed interesting to me, but didn't really captivate me.

If the entire series is as one-sided as the beginning, then that is problematic.

Good American Family tells the 'true' story of the Barnett family. Kristine (Ellen Pompeo) and Michael (Mark Duplass) adopted a daughter with dwarfism, Natalia Grace (Imogen Faith Reid), in 2010. According to the Barnetts, there is something strange about Natalia and they suspect that she is older than she says she is. In 2012, they officially raised her age, only to abandon her in 2013 and move to Canada with their three biological sons. It is later proven that Natalia was not older than she said, and that the Barnetts therefore left a nine-year-old child alone in an apartment.



The series starts each episode with a disclaimer; that the events in the series are portrayed as the Barnetts claimed. I have read that other perspectives will be presented in later episodes. After watching the first two episodes I feel a bit uncomfortable. The way the events are portrayed does indeed make it seem as if Natalia is not completely okay. We will never know exactly what happened, but what we do know is that some of the Barnetts' claims were clearly untrue. So it feels uncomfortable to watch a series that has not painted a rosy picture of Natalia so far, and has you very much on the Barnetts' side. I am curious how this will be presented differently in later episodes, when other perspectives are presented.

In addition, the series feels a bit like a dime a dozen. The principle of an adopted daughter who is older than she turns out to be is something we have seen and heard before. Or at least it feels like something that has been done before. That does not make the series any less good, it is a fine series. The story is told well and it is also entertaining. But it does not feel innovative.

Now, about Ellen Pompeo. She really surprised me. It's not like she's the best actress ever, but she does her job well. I really thought I would see a lot of Meredith Grey on the screen, but that's not the case at all. I really see someone else. That surprised me positively.

I really thought I would see a lot of Meredith Grey on screen, but that was not the case at all.

All in all, I think the first two episodes of Good American Family are fine. Not very innovative, but not bad either. I am very curious how the series will approach the rest of the story. If the entire series is as one-sided as the beginning, then that is problematic. But that shouldn't be the case. A cautious 7.0 for now.