''An Update on Our Family'' is an American

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

series directed and produced by Rachel Mason. It explores the world of family

vlogging A vlog (), also known as a video blog or video log, is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one ta ...

, primarily exploring the case of Myka and James Stauffer, and their adoption of a child, Huxley. It had its world premiere at the

Tribeca Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

on June 6, 2024, It premiered January 15, 2025, on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

. It was inspired by a

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

article by Caitlin Moscatello.

Premise

The series explores the world of family

, primarily exploring the case of Myka and James Stauffer, and their adoption of a child, Huxley, which the two documented on their

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel. Huxley was later diagnosed with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

and

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple ...

, with the Stauffers deciding to rehouse him.

Episodes

Production

Rachel Mason reached out to Myka and James Stauffer about participating in the documentary, hoping to hear their side, however, they declined to participate. Mason opted to blur all of the children who appear in the series to protect their privacy, and consent.

Reception

Critical reception

The review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 7.80/10, based on five critic reviews. Andrew Parker of ''The Gate'' gave the series an eight out of ten, writing: "Rachel Mason’s heartbreaking and skillfully assembled three part documentary series looks at the darker side of family vlogging culture, and stands as a pointed cautionary tale about a modern culture that thrives on attention, greed, and rage." John Anderson of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' wrote: "What is formally interesting about Ms. Mason’s series, and something worthy of respect, is her lack of interest in objectivity. There’s no flock of talking heads offering up some semblance of "balance". Ms. Mason gives us the goods."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Update on Our Family, The 2020s American documentary television series 2020s American television miniseries American English-language television shows Television series about social media Television series by Home Box Office HBO original programming