Autism and Adoption are two ’trigger’ words in today’s culture – and Hulu’s “Good American Family” delivers a double-whammy on both.

“There are three sides to every story,” actress Ellen Pompeo explained to The New York Times. “Or six sides.  Or nine. This is why art keeps us alive. Because everybody gets to see things their way – to make sense of them.”

Branching out from her surgeon character Meredith Grey on ABC’s hit medical show “Grey’s Anatomy,” Pompeo tackles suburban supermom Kristine Barnett in “Good American Family.”

Based on a real-life adoption-gone-wrong case, the limited series is told from multiple perspectives.  A legal disclaimer precedes every episode, describing it as reflecting and dramatizing conflicting points-of-view, rather than determining a definitive truth. (Keep that in mind because it’s ultimately frustrating.)

Since they have three biological sons, Kristine and her husband Michael (Mark Duplass) are determined to adopt a daughter. After working with their autistic son Jacob and others in their Indiana community, Kristine has already established herself as a competent, passionate advocate for disabled children.

So when they receive a cold-call from an adoption agency, Kristine and Mark immediately agree to pick up Natalia Grace (British newcomer Imogen Faith Reid), a seven year-old girl from Ukraine who suffers from a form of dwarfism.

As time passes and behavioral issues arise, Kristine increasingly suspects that their newly adopted daughter is not a child but a malicious adult woman posing as much younger for disreputable, perhaps exploitable reasons. As the noncommittal chapters unfold, the sense of doubt grows.

Then midway, there’s a switch to Natalia’s contradictory perspective as she’s abruptly abandoned by the Barnetts and forced to live on her own, eventually becoming part of another family, headed by Cynthia Mans (Christina Hendricks) and her preacher husband Antwon (Jerod Haynes).

The conclusion revolves around America’s flawed legal system which is filled with loopholes and, apparently, pivots more on precedent than on justice.

Or as Detective Brandon (Dulé Hill) notes: “If you tell a story well enough, the truth doesn’t always matter.”

Problem is: as scripted by Katie Robbins and Sara Sutherland, Kristine is diabolically manipulative while Michael is a dumb, dependent loser. And if the premise is familiar, Investigation Discovery produced a somewhat similar, multiyear, three-season docuseries titled “The Curious Case of Natalie Grace.”

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Good American Family” skewers a sorrowful, suspenseful 7 – with all eight episodes streaming on Hulu.

IF

you love Netflix’s  sci-fi drama “Stranger Things” …

IF

you’re familiar with the characters & curious about their backgrounds…and/or

IF

you’re determined to support Westport actor, Jamie Martin Mann – then, please, skip the rest of this review.

Because despite its being named the best new play on London’s West End, I think it’s the worst new play of this Broadway season. Quoting from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” – “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury – signifying nothing.”

After coughing from the billows of smoke that periodically engulf the audience and an auditory adjustment from the assault of loud, cacophonous special effects, along with far too many jump scares, let me explain.

A high-tech visual spectacle from supernatural start to finish, “First Shadow” is both a chaotic prequel and a muddled, villain-origin explanation that’s filled with disparate, disjointed scene snippets aimed at those with the attention span of a flea.

Set in the fictional town Hawkins, Indiana, in 1959 – 24 years before the TV show – we’re introduced to Henry Cree (Louis McCartney), a radio-toting, troubled teenager with telepathic powers whose past is coming back to haunt him, just like his father Victor (T.R. Knight) who suffers from PTSD.

Attempting to solve a series of gruesome crimes, Henry’s cohorts include spirited Joyce (Alison Jaye), determined to stage ‘a play within a play’; Patty (Gabrielle Nevaeh), the orphaned girl he likes; Jim (Burke Swanson), the rebellious son of the police chief; Bob (Juan Carlos), the tech nerd who adores Joyce. Plus there’s an ominous scientist, Dr. Martin Brenner (Alex Breaux), studying Henry.

According to the mythology, eventually Henry Creel will become demonic Veena, the show’s antagonist in a sinister alternate universe known as the Upside Down.

Based on an original story by Matt & Ross Duffer (a.k.a. the Duffer Brothers), Jack Thorne and Kate Trefry, the stilted, incongruous script, written by Kate Trefry, is directed by Stephen Daldry and co-directed by Justin Martin. Credit special effects and illusions by Jamie Harrison and Chris Fisher with video design by 59Studio.

Running two hours, 45 minutes with an intermission geared to merchandise sales, including bizarre plush Demogorgons, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” is at the Marriott Marquis Theatre.

While orchestra seats are predictably pricey, same-day $40 rush tickets are available at the box-office on a first-come, first-served basis, up to two per person and there’s an on-line lottery for $45 tickets at broadway.strangerthingsonstage.com.

Catch up with Susan Granger’s latest reviews here:

• May 1: “Just in Time” and Nightbitch”
• April 24: “We Had a World” and “Snow White” 
• April 17: Broadway’s “Good Night, and Good Luck” and “1923” Season 2
• April 10: “White Lotus Season 3”

Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in Journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has appeared on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie critic for many years. Read all her reviews at susangranger.com.