''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 is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. 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'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

''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, 1969) 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 f ...

, Mario R. Capecchi, Ronald W. Davis,

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

, Maya Dusenbery, H. Craig Heller,

Judith Heumann Judith Ellen "Judy" Heumann (; December 18, 1947March 4, 2023) was an American disability rights activist, known as the "Mother of the Disability Rights Movement". She was recognized internationally as a leader in the disability community. Heuma ...

Porochista Khakpour Porochista Khakpour ( Persian: 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 ...

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 was ...

Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist. Lewinsky became internationally known in the late 1990s after U.S. President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an affair with her during her days as a White House intern ...

, Abby Norman,

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

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 Maysoon Zayid () is an American actress and comedian. Of Palestinian descent, she is known as one of America's first Muslim women comedians. Early life Zayid was born in New Jersey in 1974. She described herself in a BBC interview as "a Palesti ...

, 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. The lawsuit was settled in 2023. Details of the settlement were not disclosed.

References

External links

* on

* Netflix original documentary television series American English-language television shows 2018 American television series debuts 2018 American television series endings 2010s American documentary television series Works involved in defamation lawsuits {{US-documentary-tv-prog-stub