The Girl From Plainville: Release Date, Trailer, And More

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In 2014, a teen boy from Massachusetts named Conrad Roy III died by suicide in a K-Mart parking lot. Three years later, his at-the-time girlfriend Michelle Carter was thrust into a very public and heavily scrutinized trial after it was revealed that in the 60,000 text messages the two had exchanged, Carter had on multiple occasions, encouraged Roy to take his own life. Seven months after Roy's death, Michelle was indicted for involuntary manslaughter and their text messages were submitted as evidence. Roy had a history of mental illness and Carter was proven on multiple occasions of trying to dissuade Roy from taking his own life. In 2014, however, her texts pivoted to encouragement, which some argued was a form of coercion. The case gained national attention and sparked a conversation about the boundaries of criminal responsibility and the definition of assisted suicide. 

Now, Hulu is presenting a limited series on the story heading our way by the end of the month.

"The Girl from Plainville" will premiere exclusively on Hulu with the first three episodes of the eight-episode limited series dropping on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. Subsequent episodes will be made available on the following Tuesdays.

The limited series is based on the Esquire article of the same name by Jesse Barron, and will explore the events leading up to Roy's death and Carter's highly-publicized trial and conviction. This is not the first time the Carter/Roy story has been adapted, following the 2018 Lifetime movie "Conrad & Michelle: If Words Could Kill" starring Austin P. McKenzie and Bella Thorne, in addition to the "Dateline NBC" episode "Reckless" and the HBO documentary "I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth Vs. Michelle Carter."

Michelle Carter is being played by Elle Fanning ("The Neon Demon," "The Great") with Colton Ryan ("Dear Evan Hansen," "Little Voice") as Conrad "Coco" Roy III. The duo are joined by Chloe Sevigny as Lynn Roy, Jeff Wahlberg as Rob Mahoney, Alexs Alifirenko Jr. as Lewis, Callie Brook McClincy as Hayden Carter, Kai Lennox as David Carter, Ella Kennedy Davis as Sydney Roy, Aya Cash as Katie Rayburn, Kelly AuCoin as Scott Gordon, J.C. MacKenzie as Judge Moniz, Megan Lawless as Riley Anderson, Andrew Dicostanzo as chris, Mattie Liptak as Brad, Melissa Ponzio as Carolyn, Craig Anton as Samuel Sutter, and Whitney Goin as a "48 Hours" Interviewer

Co-showrunners Liz Hannah ("The Dropout," "The Post") and Patrick Macmanus ("Dr. Death") both have plenty of experience with true crime, but have fortunately enlisted the help of Jesse Barron (author of the original Esquire article) and Erin Lee Carr (director of the HBO documentary surrounding the case, "I Love You, Now Die") as consulting producers to ensure that the series doesn't dip into the realm of exploitation. Hulu was hailed for its careful portrayal of the Gypsy Rose Blanchard case in "The Act," but recently came under fire for hosting the news report "Astroworld: Concert from Hell" shortly after 10 people lost their lives at the music festival. The report was pulled amid social media backlash.

Lisa Cholodenko ("Unbelievable"), Pippa Bianco ("Euphoria"), Zena Fuentes ("The Great"), and Liz Hannah are all listed as directing episodes of "The Girl From Plainville," with Hannah, Macmanus, Sarah Cho, Ahmadu Garba, Bashir Gavriel, Ashley Michel Hoban, and Sara Pearson listed as writers.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.