Hulu Takes On "Highly Controversial" Ruby Franke Case With New Documentary

Hulu's no stranger to covering true crime and other documentaries,y so it's no surprise they're willing to explore Ruby Franke's case. Appropriately titled Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, this documentary's primary goal is to understand what happened to the Frankes.

The world's introduction to the family was via their Eight Passengers YouTube channel (second page dedicated to them) which was spearheaded by family matriarch Ruby Franke. Featuring short vlogs about life with "six active kids," it was meant to be a space so they could "find true joy in the journey." Despite the fact Kevin Franke revealed their main channel was bringing in over $100,000, there didn't seem to be a ton of job behind the scenes given the crime-ridden fallout (via Vanity Fair).

But, don't expect to look at Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke from a true crime angle.

"I know everyone expects this to be true crime, but I’ve watched true-crime documentaries, and this isn't it," Kevin Franke said in an interview with Vanity Fair. Even the documentary's director Olly Lambert said he's "never made, and would never make just a true-crime thing," although the media outlet pointed out he directed Abused: The Untold Story which details Jimmy Savile's salacious crimes.

Viewers will be able to see snippets from prior vlogs that include Ruby Franke's double personalities and also seems to explain how Kevin Franke was duped into allowing Jodi Hildebrandt to live with the couple in 2021. According to Lambert, he believes this is one of the ways she was able to manipulate the family. "We’ve met quite a lot of people who worked with Jodi, and it was a very common theme that Jodi really was gifted at seeing through people—reading them with such accuracy. But she used it to such bad ends, because she very quickly…what she would see is a way to exploit people. A way to manipulate them," (via Vanity Fair).

Kevin Franke also said, "One of the things that’s been so frustrating for me has been feeling silenced or muzzled—not being able to speak and having people make assumptions that just aren’t accurate." From his POV, this gives him the chance to "take control" of the narrative that's been spun about him.

This may stem from the book he and Ruby Franke's daughter, Shari Franke, released last month. Titled The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom, it sheds light on how controlling her mother was. Not only that, but Shari points out the religious fanaticism her mother succumbed to and the daunting reality of Jodi Hildebrandt's coaching program "ConneXions."

From her perspective, she felt her father wasn't actively present which gave her mom freedom to impose her strong will onto the Franke children.

In Chad Franke's case, he never seemed like he wanted to be a part of the YouTube channel. There are moments in Devil in the Family where he doesn't seem enthusiastic about being on camera which prompted his sister Shari to say things like "pretend like you're happy" or "act like you're happy" (via Vanity Fair).

He also revealed the stark difference between how his mom acted when she was filmed and when she wasn't. "...there was a large difference between her just telling me to be myself, and then, you know, when we were doing a brand deal or working with a company — then I was to say exactly what the company would ask me to say."

It makes sense he celebrated the anniversary of his mom's arrest last year by writing "Happy Prisonversary" over her picture on social media (via PEOPLE).

Throughout the documentary, it feels that Kevin Franke took a passive approach to being in his children's lives which led to Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt taking advantage of them. Vanity Fair recounted how Ruby even resorted to saying she believed her children were under demonic possession and needed to save her kids.

Whatever the case, the Franke children will have to heal from the trauma inflicted on them by someone who should've been protecting and loving them. It's a sad situation that should've never resulted in Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke being filmed, but we're glad someone decided to allow siblings Shari and Chad Franke a chance to share their side of the story.

You can watch all episodes of Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke on Hulu starting today!