There are long-running TV shows and then there's Grey's Anatomy. The medical drama is on its 21st season on ABC (and streaming with a Hulu subscription), and is showing no signs of slowing down. But Ellen Pompeo's departure as a series regular has changed the drama, and some fans pivoted to watch shows like Grey's Anatomy. Luckily, her new Hulu show Good American Family is definitely giving me all the Grey's-adjacent goodness I needed.
While some folks are figuring out how to watch Good American Family, I'm actively tuning in for new episodes every Wednesday. The show is a fascinating look at a real-life family, and the story just gets more fascinating every week. I'm missing Meredith Grey, but this new show is scratching that itch for a few reasons.
To start, the show is very much set in the midst of a medical mystery, which harkens back to Pompeo's acclaimed tenure on Grey's Anatomy. The series follows as the Barnett family adopts Natalia Grace, a child with a rare form of dwarfism. But, after the first two episodes of Good American Family, Pompeo's protagonist, Kristine, starts fearing that her new daughter isn't actually a child at all.
While searching for the truth, Kristine has to be forceful with various people, including Natalia, and her husband, Mark. In these moment of anger and determination, I have to say that I saw glimpses of Meredith coming out of Pompeo's spirited performance. For decades we've watched the title character of Grey's passionately advocate for her patients, herself, and her loved ones. You don't want to mess with Mer, and the same can be said for Kristine.
Another big reason why this new Hulu show scratches that Grey's itch is because Kristine even gets to narrate some episodes. Pompeo's Meredith famously narrates nearly every episode of the medical drama, even after she stopped being a series regular. While this is a very different show, this connective tissue pleased me as a longtime fan.
We're only five episodes into Good American Family, so only time will tell how the narrative is wrapped up and if there is any more connective tissue to Pompeo's decades on Grey's Anatomy. The Hulu show does seem to be shifting blame depending on the episode, showing how things ultimately resulted in Kristine's arrest during Episode 1.
The streaming series is based on the real-life story of Natalia Grace and the Barnetts, so while a Google search might provide spoilers about how the show will end, I'm keeping my ears and eyes closed. Instead, I want to see the way the narrative plays out in the TV adaptation of this viral story.
New episodes of Good American Family air Wednesdays on Hulu as part of the 2025 TV premiere dates. As for Grey's, new episodes air Thursdays on ABC.
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