Eight years ago, a shocking crime that took place in a small town in Massachusetts made news headlines around the world. A 17-year-old woman named Michelle Carter was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after sending a slew of text messages encouraging a young man to take his own life.

The true story of the ‘texting-suicide’ case was adapted into an eight-episode Hulu series, which boasts a 93% ‘fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Now, at long last, it’s coming to UK televisions via the benevolent forces at Channel 4, and we really don’t have long to wait: it’s dropping at 10pm on Wednesday 26 July. 

Watch the trailer for The Girl From Plainville below:

Intrigued? Read on for more…

The Girl From Plainville is inspired by the true story of Michelle Carter’s unprecedented ‘texting-suicide’ case. 

Based on the Esquire article of the same name by Jesse Baron, the series explores Carter’s personal relationship with Conrad ‘Coco’ Roy III, a young man who lived less than an hour away from her in the suburbs of Boston. The show chronicles the events leading up to his tragic death, in which the teenager committed suicide by poisoning himself with carbon monoxide fumes from his truck in a K-Mart parking lot.

The series also examines Carter’s controversial conviction for involuntary manslaughter. During a highly scrutinised trial for homicide in 2017, Carter’s text conversations with Roy were used by prosecutors to support the stance that Michelle had driven him to take his own life. The case revealed how the judicial system is ill-equipped to deal with modern crimes such as encouragement to commit suicide.

Carter was released from prison in January 2020 after serving 11 months in a Massachusetts prison.

The Girl From Plainville already boasts an intriguing lineup. Elle Fanning (The Great) will play Michelle Carter, while Colton Ryan stars opposite as Conrad ‘Coco’ Roy III.

Joining them in the series are Chloë Sevigny (Big Love) as Lynn Roy, Cara Buono (Stranger Things) as Gail Carter, Kai Lennox (Green Room) as David Carter, Norbert Leo Butz (Bloodline) as Conrad Roy (the victim’s father), and Michael Mosley (Ozark) as Joseph Cataldo.

Over on Rotten Tomatoes, the critics’ consensus reads: “Grounded by a disturbingly powerful performance by Elle Fanning, The Girl From Plainville dramatises a sordid true story with tasteful restraint.”

Is anyone else counting down the days…?

Images: Hulu