Ruby Franke, once known for her famous YouTube channel, “8 Passengers,” pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse in Utah on Dec. 18, 2023.
On Dec. 27, 2023, Jodi Hildebrandt, who ran an online self improvement program with Franke, also pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse. Ruby, once known for her seemingly perfect family of six kids and her husband, Kevin Franke are now known for the nightmares that occurred in their home.
In early 2015, Ruby began her channel which showed their daily life. Her channel was very popular, gaining 2.5 million subscribers at its peak and surpassing over 1 billion views. At one point, making $20,000-$80,000 a month from videos they posted.
What looked like a perfect family, quickly became a nightmare when Ruby looked for guidance in Hildebrandt. On Aug. 30, 2023, the channel was taken down following the arrest of Ruby and Hildebrandt.
On Feb. 27, 2025, Hulu released a three episode docuseries, Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke; it has maintained its place in the Top 15 Today, drawing 7.9 million viewers within its first five days of streaming.
The docuseries covers what really happened behind the scenes of a seemingly wholesome family channel. Over a thousand hours of unseen footage from their YouTube channel, along with exclusive interviews from neighbors and friends are released.
This also marks the first time that Ruby’s two eldest children, Chad and Shari Franke, along with her husband, Kevin speak their side of the story in depth on camera.
This docuseries focuses on many mature themes such as emotional and psychological child abuse, kidnapping, sexual predatory behavior, and offensive language.
It also shows police photographs and documents that demonstrate the physical abuse the Franke children had to endure, along with videos describing what the kids lived through. Recordings of Hildebrandt’s therapy sessions expose what clients encountered. The family’s religious extremism is also depicted in the documentary as well as mentions of evil, demons and possession.
As of today, Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke is Top 10 TV Shows on Hulu, placing at 6th place. The documentary also has a rating of 7.4 out of 10 on IMDb.
Some viewers state that the documentary was great, revealing the truth about family vlogging on YouTube and the abuse the children go through. A user review states the first two episodes are intriguing, showing the development of the family and getting them to a point where they begin to show cracks.
On the other hand, some viewers argue that it could’ve been one episode instead of a dragged-out series. Another user review states that the third episode was hard to watch and it felt sickening to watch everything unfold before their eyes. More reviews also say it was disturbing, but intriguing.
The unseen footage from the YouTube channel making it feel more real by showing what the children really went through.
Overall, Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke shows a reality of family vlogging and the abuse towards children of those channels.
Although there is some disturbing footage and images in the documentary, it depicts the chasm between a supposedly happy family and a house of horrors. This documentary sheds light on the heavy subject of emotional, psychological and physical abuse towards children and is a reminder of the dark side of social media fame.
