The Bad Orphan

Jessica and Karl believed they had built a solid life around their daughter Rhiannon, and their longing to grow the family finally leads them to Gabby, an eight-year-old orphan with rough edges and unspoken hurts. They imagine a picture-perfect household where love and stability will heal old gaps, but soon Gabby's unsettling patterns surface and begin to unsettle everyone. The couple finds themselves wrestling with questions about trust, boundaries, and what it truly means to welcome a child into their home. As deception and misreads accumulate, small lies spiral into bigger cracks that ripple through each room of the house. Jessica grows increasingly worried that Gabby may undermine the family they fought so hard to protect today together.

Directed by Michelle Ouellet, this 2024 television drama was created by Doris Egan. It positions Betsy Brandt and Mark Taylor as the parents navigating a tense adoption story that stays squarely on family dynamics, power, and the limits of consent within a household today.

Box office: Not applicable for a TV movie; The Bad Orphan did not have a theatrical release and there are no grosses. It premiered on television and circulated through streaming or broadcast platforms, focusing on home audiences rather than grosses globally.

Awards: No major nominations or wins are publicly reported for The Bad Orphan. As a limited television feature, it appears to have flown under the awards radar, with attention more focused on performers and the tense atmosphere than on accolades. Some smaller festivals may have noted it.

Critical reception is mixed, with audiences noting the film's tense mood and its moral questions. Core themes include the risks and responsibilities of adoption, the fragility of family trust, and how fear can distort perception within a home. Betsy Brandt delivers a credible portrayal of a mother pushed to limits.