''Afflicted'' is an American

documentary television Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

series on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

. The show follows individuals suffering from various chronic diseases and illnesses, seeking treatment and cures. Netflix released all seven episodes of its first season on August 10, 2018.

Episodes

Controversy

Since its release, the show has received backlash for its portrayal of chronic illnesses as psychosomatic or psychiatric disorders. ''

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''s Caitlin Flynn wrote that the series "failed the chronic illness community". Cast members on the show have since publicly come out against the show and its editing practices. A group of physicians, scientists, filmmakers, writers, and others, including

Sini Anderson Sini Anderson (born November 6, 19??) is an American film director, producer, performance artist, choreographer, dancer and poet, from Chicago, Illinois. Anderson is widely known for directing ''The Punk Singer'' (2013), a documentary about riot ...

Jennifer Brea Jennifer Brea is an American documentary filmmaker and activist. Her debut feature, '' Unrest'', premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and received the US Documentary Special Jury Award For Editing. Brea also co-created a virtual reality fil ...

, Mario R. Capecchi, Ronald W. Davis,

Lena Dunham Lena Dunham (, born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is known as the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series ''Girls (TV series), Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy ...

, Maya Dusenbery, H. Craig Heller,

Judith Heumann Judith Ellen "Judy" Heumann (born December 18, 1947) is an American disability rights activist. She is recognized internationally as a leader in the disability community. Heumann is a lifelong civil rights advocate for people with disabilities. ...

Porochista Khakpour Porochista Khakpour (Farsi: پوروچیستا خاکپور, born January 17, 1978) is an Iranian American novelist, essayist, and journalist. A refugee from Iran whose family fled the Iran-Iraq War and the Islamic Revolution, Khakpour grew up ...

Deborah Hoffmann Deborah Hoffmann is an American documentary director and editor. She edited and along with Frances Reid co-directed '' Long Night's Journey into Day'' (2000), which won the 2000 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury award for best documentary and w ...

Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist and writer. President Bill Clinton admitted to having an affair with Lewinsky while she worked at the White House as an intern in 1995 and 1996. The affair, and its repercus ...

, Abby Norman,

Meghan O'Rourke Meghan O'Rourke (born 1976 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American nonfiction writer, poet and critic. Background and education O'Rourke was born January 26, 1976, in Brooklyn, New York. The eldest of three children born to Paul and Barbara O� ...

Frances Reid Frances Reid (December 9, 1914 – February 3, 2010) was an American dramatic actress. Reid acted on television for nearly all of the second half of the 20th century. Her career continued into the early 2000s. Although she starred in ma ...

and Maysoon Zayid, have petitioned Netflix to remove the series from its platform, identifying misrepresentation of subjects and questionable tactics as well as medical and scientific flaws as key problems. In 2019 seven of the participants in the series sued Netflix and the producers for defamation, false-light invasion of privacy, unjust enrichment and fraud over the way they were depicted on screen. Netflix asked the Court to dismiss the case because participants signed releases. However, the trial court and appeals court ruled against Netflix and allowed the case to proceed. In a unanimous decision from the appellate court, the panel ruled that the consent releases the subjects signed aren’t enforceable because the participants were lied to and pressured to waive their rights not to be defamed.

References

External links

* on

* Netflix original documentary television series English-language Netflix original programming 2018 American television series debuts 2018 American television series endings 2010s American documentary television series {{US-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub