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Mad Men vet Christina Hendricks is set to co-star opposite Grey’s Anatomy‘s Ellen Pompeo in Hulu’s forthcoming limited series Natalia, TVLine has learned exclusively.

Formerly titled Orphan, Natalia is inspired by the true story of Natalia Grace and follows a Midwestern couple — Kristine and Michael Barnett (played by Pompeo and The Morning Show‘s Mark Duplass) — who adopt what they believe is an 8-year-old Ukrainian girl with a rare form of dwarfism. But as they begin to raise the girl alongside their three biological children, they slowly start to believe she may not be who she says she is.

The Morning Show‘s Mark Duplass has been cast as the male lead in the Hulu limited series that factored into Ellen Pompeo’s decision to have a reduced presence on Grey’s Anatomy these past two seasons.

Currently titled Orphan, the eight-episode series is inspired by the true story of Natalia Grace and follows a Midwestern couple — Kristine and Michael Barnett (played by Pompeo and Duplass) — who adopt what they believe is an 8-year-old Ukrainian girl with a rare form of dwarfism. But as they begin to raise the girl alongside their three biological children, they slowly start to believe...

Exclusive: Mark Duplass is set as the male lead opposite Ellen Pompeo and Imogen Faith Reid in Orphan (working title), Hulu’s eight episode limited series starring and executive produced by Pompeo.

Written by Katie Robbins, who serves as showrunner, the series is inspired by the true story of Natalia Grace and the Midwestern couple who adopted her believing she was a little girl with dwarfism but gradually started to believe she may not be who she said she was.

Duplass will play Michael Barnett, at the time husband of Pompeo’s Kristine Barnett, and adoptive father to Natalia (Imogen Faith Reid).

In 2019, Michael (Duplass), an upbeat Midwestern dad and retail manager, was charged, along with his ex-wife Kristine (Pompeo), for the neglect and abandonment of their daughter Natalia, whom they adopted in 2010. Already in the public eye because of Kristine’s bestselling book The Spark– about raising their son Jacob,...

In 2023, Investigation Discovery dove into the bizarre and fascinating case of Natalia Grace, the Ukranian orphan with a rare form of dwarfism, spondyloepiphyseal, who was adopted by Michael and Kristine Barnett in 2010.

“The Curious Case of Natalia Grace,” which has reached more than 10 million viewers across ID and Max since its debut, follows the story of the young girl, who claimed she was 6 at the time of her adoption; two years after adopting her, the Barnetts petitioned to have Grace’s age legally changed to 22, changing her birth year from 2003 to 1989. A year later, in 2013, they moved to Canada and abandoned her.

Michael Barnett, who was found not guilty of three counts of neglect and conspiracy in 2022, called Natalia a “con artist,” claiming she was an adult masquerading as a child and tried to kill the family. The second season, titled “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks,” debuted in January.

The Curious Case of Natalia Grace burst onto screens earlier this year and told the story we'd heard so much about.

Missing from the story was Natalia's input, as we were essentially told one side of a story, which doesn't always give the whole picture.

Natalia's adoptive father, Michael Barnett, was front and center throughout the initial run, revealing how he and his then-wife came to be in the care of Natalia.

On The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, we'll see Natalia reunited with Michael as they go through the bombshells from the first season, with Natalie offering input.

The next chapter "offers exclusive access to Natalia Grace Barnett as she shares her story and confronts her former adoptive parents Michael and Kristine Barnett's accusations head on," ID teases.

Throughout six parts, we see Natalia open up about her adoption saga and her family's allegations from Natalia's perspective,...

Investigation Discovery (ID) wrapped up its three-part documentary series, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, on Wednesday (May 31) night. It told the unbelievable story of a couple adopting an adult they accused of pretending to be a six-year-old Ukrainian orphan. Now, Grace is getting to open up in a two-hour follow-up documentary, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, where she will share her side of this unusual case, which is also set to be adapted into an eight-part Hulu scripted series starring Ellen Pompeo and Imogen Reid. “This is my side of the story, and I’m going to say what happened because I never got a chance to say what happened,” Grace says in a trailer shared by Et Online. Michael Barnett and Kristine Barnett, a now-divorced couple from Indiana, adopted Grace in 2010, thinking she was a six-year-old girl. The couple, who didn’t realize Grace had...

Grey’s Anatomy star Kate Walsh shares how the show could live on after Ellen Pompeo's exit. In the role of Dr. Addison Montgomery, Walsh is a Grey's original, which made her return all the more notable. Addison believed that, in returning to her old stomping grounds, she'd feel the presence of her ex-husband, Derek, even after his death. That wasn't exactly the case, but she shared a moment of deep connection with Pompeo's Meredith Grey. The mini-arc closed the loop on one of the medical procedural's oldest stories, providing a sweet and understated bit of closure.

It was fitting, since Pompeo will have a reduced role as Meredith moving forward as she focuses on other projects. In an interview with People, Walsh talks about her return to Grey's Anatomy season 19 and how she feels the writing is at its strongest. She says the characters on Grey's are strong, and...

When wrestler Mack Beggs stepped onto the mat to compete during his days as a high schooler in Texas, he not only faced the opponent in front of him, but often a raft of adversaries in the stands. They booed him and hurled invectives.

“I do think people hate me,” Mack says in the Emmy-nominated documentary Changing the Game. The reason? “There was a huge uproar and controversy with me being trans.”

Beggs found himself twisted into knots — not by another wrestler, but by a state imposing restrictions and regulations on the activities of trans athletes. Beggs wanted to compete against boys, but Texas refused and would only allow him to wrestle girls. When he did wrestle girls, crowds rained down abuse.

Beggs said he tried to tune that out and keep focused on the match.

“I was just like, why are you being malicious? I’m not going to feed into your negativity,...

UK actor Imogen Reid has been tapped as a co-lead opposite Ellen Pompeo in Hulu’s untitled orphan limited series, executive produced by the Grey’s Anatomy star.

Created and written by Katie Robbins, the Untitled Orphan Project is inspired by the true story of a Midwestern couple who adopts a young girl with a rare form of dwarfism (Reid). But as they begin to raise her alongside their three other children, they slowly start to suspect she may not be who she says she is. As they question her story, they’re confronted with hard questions of their own about the lengths they’re willing to go to defend themselves and protect their own narrative, falling into a battle that’s fought in the tabloids, the courtroom, and ultimately their marriage.

Pompeo will play the mother.

The shocking case, which has drawn parallels to the 2009 horror movie Orphan, made national...

The stranger-than-fiction story of Ukranian-born Natalia Grace and her U.S. adoptive parents, who claimed that she was an adult “sociopath” pretending to be a child, is the inspiration for an eight-episode Hulu limited series starring and executive produced by Ellen Pompeo.

As she takes on the Untitled Orphan Project, Grey’s Anatomy star Pompeo will be scaling back her on-screen presence on the ABC medical drama next season to eight episodes. She will remain a narrator and executive producer on the show.

Ellen Pompeo Through The Years: Photo Gallery Of 18 Seasons Of Meredith Grey On ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

The shocking case, which has drawn parallels to the 2009 horror movie Orphan, made national headlines in September 2019 when Kristine Barnett and her ex-husband Michael Barnett were charged with neglect for allegedly abandoning their adopted daughter Natalia, who has a rare form of dwarfism, in 2013 when she was 9. The parents have claimed that Natalia, whom they adopted when they thought she was 6, is in fact a mentally disturbed adult woman who threatened their lives. Most of the charges against the Barnetts eventually were dismissed; Natalia has denied the accusations that she is a grownup con artist.

The limited series was created and written by Katie Robbins (The Affair). Here is the logline: Inspired by the true story of the Midwestern couple who adopts what they believe is a little girl with dwarfism. As they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, they slowly start to believe she may not be who she says she is. As they question her story, they’re confronted with hard questions of their own about the lengths they’re willing to go to defend themselves, falling into a battle that’s fought in the tabloids, the courtroom, and ultimately their marriage.

Pompeo will play the mother.

2022 Hulu Pilots & Series Orders

The project has been in the works at Hulu for a year and a half. Mike Epps and his managers Dan Spilo and Niles Kirchner had originally obtained the rights to Michael Barnett’s story before taking the idea to the Disney-controlled streamer. Hulu optioned the rights to Michael Barnett in January 2021, and Robbins was brought in to write the script. Pompeo came on board earlier this summer.

Erin Levy will serve as showrunner on the series and executive produce alongside Robbins. Pompeo will executive produce through her production banner Calamity Jane with Laura Holstein. Epps, Spilo and Niles Kirchner also executive produce alongside Andrew Stearn, who at the time of the Hulu sale had a deal at ABC Signature predecessor ABC Studios.

This marks Pompeo’s first major acting role outside of the Grey’s Anatomy franchise since the 2005 feature Life of the Party. Pompeo acted primarily in movies before she was cast as Meredith Grey in Grey’s Anatomy 18 years ago and has been focused on the hit show ever since. In addition to starring, Pompeo serves as an executive producer on ABC’s hugely popular medical drama, which is headed to its 19th season. She is repped by CAA, John Carrabino Management, The Lede Company and Hansen Jacobson.

Robbins is repped by UTA, Aaron Kogan Management and attorney Jonathan Shikora. Levy is repped by WME. Michael Barnett was repped in the deal by attorney Terrance Kinnard.

There are currently more than 100 anti-trans bills hitting stage legislatures across the country, many of them aimed at trans kids who want to participate on sports teams according to their gender identity. While this issue is getting more attention now, it isn’t new. As the new Hulu documentary “Changing the Game” shows in intimate detail, trans kids, their parents and medical professionals have been fighting constant misinformation for years.

“The responses [to the documentary] have been just astonishing,” says producer Alex Schmider, GLAAD’s associate director of transgender representation. “People are suddenly activated to want to fight for these young people to be able to participate fully in public life, which includes being able to go to school and play sports and do all the things that kids should get to do.”

“Changing the Game,” which premiered June 1 on Hulu, follows three trans student athletes. Sarah Rose is a bubbly trans girl...

Composer Tyler Strickland has co-written a new song, “Chasing Dreams,” from the new Hulu documentary “Changing the Game.”

“Chasing Dreams” is also co-written and performed by music producer/artist Gozé and features Old Man Saxon and trans artist Shea Diamond. The power anthem that ends the film is a striking tune, one that is about resilience, and strength and overcoming obstacles — a perfect fit to the theme of the story.

The documentary, which premieres June 1 in celebration of Pride Month, is directed by Michael Barnett and centers on the lives of three high-school athletes, all at different stages of their athletic seasons, personal lives and unique paths as transgender teens. Their stories cover an array of experiences, from Sarah, a skier and teen policymaker in New Hampshire, to Andraya, a track star in Connecticut openly competing on the girls track team. Mack Beggs is the core focus of the doc,...