Ruby Franke: A Look into Her Downfall in Hulu’s ‘Devil in the Family’

ecame extreme, such as when she openly discussed on camera how she restricted her children’s access to food and to a bed, all to teach them a lesson. In August 2023, Ruby and Jodi Hildebrandt, Ruby’s podcasting partner, were arrested after Ruby’s 12-year-old son escaped from a window at Hildebrandt’s home in Ivins, Utah, and ran to a neighbor’s house, begging for food and water, police said.

In December 2023, the two women pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse. They were sentenced in Feb. 2024 to 4 to 60 years in prison. Now, for the first time ever, Ruby’s husband, Kevin Franke, and their two oldest children, Shari and Chad, are opening up in depth on camera about their family’s ordeal in the new original documentary series on Hulu, Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke.

Produced by Passion Pictures, the three-part documentary series is set to debut on Thursday, Feb. 27 on Hulu. The docuseries goes behind the scenes, featuring exclusive access to the Franke family and their friends and neighbors, as well as hours of unseen footage. In the trailer for the docuseries, shown exclusively on PEOPLE, Kevin talks about how his wife became an influencer. “My wife Ruby’s sole ambition was to be seen as the perfect mom, and so she decided to create a YouTube channel and we became ‘8 Passengers,'” he explains. Shari adds, “Our entire schedule revolved around YouTube. It felt more like a set than a house.” The docuseries shows the family pulling back the curtain on their seemingly perfect lives, revealing what was really going on. Ruby, says son Chad, “just wanted to show the view of a Mormon happy family, but they only saw what we wanted to show them.” The family’s ordeal only gets worse when Hildebrand comes into their lives. Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke will premiere on Thursday, Feb. 27 on Hulu. It will also be available via Hulu on Disney+ for Bundle subscribers.