Mommy vlogger convicted of child abuse at center of docuseries: ‘The Fall of Ruby Franke’

A new Hulu docuseries sheds light on the events leading up to the arrest of former mommy vlogger Ruby Franke and her business partner, from the perspective of those closest to her.

Franke’s family, including her two oldest children and ex-husband, are setting the record straight about what happened in their home for the first time on “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke,” released Thursday.

The three-part docuseries features never-seen-footage and exclusives interviews with ex-husband Kevin Franke and the couple’s oldest children, 21-year-old Shari Franke and 20-year-old Chad Franke.

The Frankes, who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, garnered national attention when viewers of the former couple’s now-defunct “8 Passengers” YouTube channel began to speculate in 2020 that they were mistreating their six children: Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell, and Eve.

Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt, who co-founded a parenting advice and counseling YouTube channel and service called ConneXions, were both arrested and charged with six counts of second-degree aggravated child abuse in Utah in September 2023.

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“For years, the Frankes’ YouTube Channel had documented a wholesome, happy family life, with 2.5 million subscribers tuning in at its peak,” the Hulu show’s description read. “But happy families are rarely what they seem. As the cracks began to show, the family turned to counselor Jodi Hildebrandt for guidance — and rapidly found themselves trapped in a nightmare.”

Here’s what to know about new Hulu docuseries “Devil in the Family: The fall of Ruby Franke,” including additional details about Ruby Franke, the former vlogger serving prison time for abusing her children.

Who is Ruby Franke? And what did she do?

Ruby Franke, 43, is a former mommy vlogger who lived in Springville, Utah, with her husband Kevin and their six children. The couple ran a popular and now-defunct YouTube channel called “8 Passengers,” which showed snippets of the family’s daily life online to an audience of millions of people starting in early 2015.

Franke later became the subject of widespread criticism online for her parenting choices, particularly her discipline methods that some considered borderline abusive.

The pushback intensified when Franke co-founded ConneXions with Hildebrandt, a family counselor turned business partner. Many found that the “parenting style” the pair promoted to be extreme and harsh.

The frequent inclusion of what has been called homophobic, racist and transphobic comments did not help their popularity. In one oft-referenced example, Franke told viewers that children do not deserve and should not receive unconditional love.

Both women were arrested and initially charged with six counts of second-degree aggravated child after two of Franke’s six children were found abused and malnourished. They both pleaded guilty to four of the six counts as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Franke and Hildebrandt were sentenced to prison time ranging from four to 60 years in February 2024.

What is ‘Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke’ about?

Franke’s closest relatives are sharing their story in depth and on camera for the first time.

“Devil in The Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke” features exclusive access to the Frankes, their family and neighbors, and over 1,000 hours of their YouTube channel’s unseen footage, Hulu says.

It “cuts through the social media reaction to explore the untold story behind the Ruby Franke case: part family tragedy, part coming-of-age narrative part tale of our times about the perils of life lived online,” per Hulu’s official logline.

How to watch ‘Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke’

The three-part docuseries, released Thursday, is available to stream on Hulu.

Watch on Hulu:‘Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke’

Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke trailer

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Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY

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