How to Watch 'Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke'
A new docuseries features interviews with members of the family and is available to stream today. Here's what you need to know.
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Once one of the most popular family vloggers, revelations of child abuse led to the arrest and sentencing of Ruby Franke, who faces up to 60 years in prison on four counts of child abuse. Franke ran the now-shuttered 8 Passengers vlog, documenting her, her husband, and their six childrenâs seemingly idyllic Mormon life.
Members of the family have recently begun speaking out. Daughter Shari released a memoir in January, and Rubyâs husband Kevin told his side of the story for the first time. A new docuseries from Hulu, out today, will try to take a full account of the familyâs story, with interviews from Kevin and the eldest children, Shari and Chad.
The three-part docuseries is streaming now on Hulu, which is available with a free trial or as a bundle with Disney+ and Max or Disney+ and ESPN+.
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In an interview with Rolling Stone, Shari Franke explained her reasoning behind speaking out and writing a memoir, saying, âWriting the book was a way to take back my privacy, as strange as that sounds. Just because it was Ruby who took my voice away⌠and then with the arrest, it was the media then that picked a side of me to portray.â
The House of My Mother: A Daughterâs Quest for Freedom
Shari Franke, the eldest daughter of the family, told her side of the story in The House of My Mother from publisher Gallery Books.
The familyâs lives began to take a turn when Ruby met a counselor named Jodi Hildebrandt, who became ingrained in the familyâs life and guided Ruby toward increasingly draconian and abusive methods, including withholding food from the children. One of Rubyâs young sons fled the house and begged a neighbor for help, leading to Frankeâs 2023 arrest.
In the trailer, the interviewer asks Kevin why he didnât âstand up and say this is nonsense,â and Kevin responds, âIf I dwell on that question, it eats me alive.â The series also shows unedited clips Ruby recorded of her family, including yelling at them to perform for the vlog. Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrand both pleaded guilty.