As an adoptee, I am always searching for adoptee-centered content. Sometimes it feels like a massive effort to find anything halfway decent. There is a lot of adoption content out there in the world, but most of it misses the mark. That is why when you find something adoption-related on television that’s good, you stick with it. I would like to share four things I found to watch in the last year, that are about adoption and hit the mark for me.
4. Found (Netflix)
Found on Netflix, is a documentary-style production featuring three transracial adoptees. Chloe, Sadie, and Lily, three teenage girls adopted from China, embark on the adventure of a lifetime. They first connect via family matches as distant cousins through an ancestry DNA test. They then decide to travel to China together in search of a biological family. The documentary follows them on their trip to China and their quest to find family. “Real,” “raw,” and “emotional” are all words I would use to describe Found.
3. Three Identical StrangersT (Hulu)
Three Identical Strangers on Hulu, features the story of a set of identical triplets who were separated at birth. These men were purposefully separated at birth to be a part of a sick science experiment. They were studied and followed through their lives to study the long-standing debate of nurture versus nature. The adoptive and biological parents of these men had no idea that they were identical triplets. Edward, David, and Robert, unfortunately, were not the only twins or triplets separated at birth to be studied. Three Identical Strangers follows the tragic outcome of triplets growing up separated. This documentary strongly suggests that nature and our biology strongly influence who we are.
2. Long Lost Family (TLC & Hulu)
Long Lost Family, a TLC production that can be found on Hulu, is a show about reuniting people, often adoptees and birth parents, with their long-lost family. The show partnered with ancestry DNA and ran for 6 seasons. Two adoptee journalists hosted it. This show had an incredible ability to show the rawness of reunification in the adoptee triad. It showed the good, the bad, and the ugly for all that it was. I have personally seen every episode and I have shared the show with as many people as I can. Long Lost Family shows that reunion doesn’t always go how we plan. Sometimes we encounter road bumps when trying to open up a closed adoption. However, sometimes it can be a beautiful and positive life changing event. This series shows all of the sides of reunion in adoption.
1. Relative Race (BYU TV)
My most recent favorite adoptee-centered TV show is called Relative Race (BYUtv.org). Relative Race is a game-show-style tv show that also portrays adoptees and foster kids reuniting with long-lost relatives. The show consists of four teams of two people. Often, a team will consist of a married couple or a pair of siblings. Teams compete in silly games, and then they have to navigate to their relative’s house with no navigation or technology. The goal for the teams is to accomplish all of this in the least amount of time possible. If you are in last place, you earn a strike. Three strikes, and you are eliminated from the game. On day 10, the winning team earns $50,000.
Apart from all of the fun games, challenges, and money on the line, Relative Race shows emotional and beautiful reunions. These reunions are as real as it gets. My husband and I recently watched season 12, and we both cried our way through every episode. Relative Race is my favorite adoptee-centered TV show. Adoptee voices are highlighted and praised in this show. It is a great way to get a glimpse into what it is like to be an adoptee.
If you are an adoptee, birth parent, adoptive parent, or are at all touched by adoption, I hope that you check out one or all of these shows and movies. These movies and shows all highlight different parts of adoption and the effects it has on its participants. As an adoptee myself, seeing things that I have encountered in my own life, portrayed in the life of others, is very encouraging. Shows like Found, Three Identical Strangers, Long lost Family, and Relative Race, can help all members of the triad to feel less alone. I encourage you to check them out.
