Official Trailer for “The Battle for Justina Pelletier” A Peacock Original [VIDEO]

Exploring the story of Justina Pelletier, a 14-year-old girl who entered a Boston hospital with a mysterious set of symptoms and quickly became a ward of the state, leaving her family in disbelief. The events that followed inspired an anonymous computer hacker to take matters into his own hands and sparked a debate about parental rights, medical child abuse and the gray areas in between.

“Adding a story like Justina’s to the outstanding library of documentaries on Peacock is something we couldn’t be more proud of,” says Stephanie Steele SVP, Unscripted Current Production NBCUniversal Television, and Streaming. “With clashing opinions about what’s best for a child, The Battle for Justina Pelletier offers a compelling account of a committed family, those who were inspired to jump into action, and the resilient girl at the heart of it all. Audiences are sure to be engrossed and left deciding for themselves which side they agree with.”

“When our team started this project three years ago, we wondered how one event could be interpreted two entirely different ways. As we investigated, we found there were few easy answers,” said Director David Metzler. “What drove us forward was the very brave girl at the center of it and to make sure Justina’s story gets told and remembered.”

ABOUT THE BATTLE FOR JUSTINA PELLETIER

Exploring the harrowing true story of Justina Pelletier, a 14-year-old girl who entered Boston Children’s Hospital with a mysterious set of symptoms. Quickly, suspicions turned towards the parents and Justina became a ward of the state, leaving her family in disbelief. The family called it “medical kidnapping.” The hospital accused the parents of medical child abuse, aka “Munchausen syndrome by proxy.” The battle between the two sides inspired an Anonymous computer hacker to take matters into his own hands, hurling the family into a national debate about parental rights, child protection, and the gray areas in between.

EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS

Our Little Peanut

A 14-year-old girl falls ill with a mysterious set of symptoms and is taken to one of Boston’s top hospitals; the events that follow leave her family in disbelief and lead a hacker from the group Anonymous to take matters into his own hands.

We Do Not Forgive, We Do Not Forget

Anonymous targets Boston Children’s Hospital and disrupts its computer network in defense of Justina Pelletier; shortly after, Justina returns home to her family after more than a year in DCF custody; Anonymous hacker Marty and his wife Dana go on the run.

We Go to War

The Pelletiers hire an attorney and file a civil lawsuit against Boston Children’s Hospital claiming medical malpractice; Marty is rescued at sea, arrested, and charged with a federal crime; both the family and Marty get to have their day in court.

And Then We Went Home

The verdict of the civil case against Boston Children’s Hospital is revealed, and Justina continues to navigate a rocky path to health; Dana does her best to support Marty from the outside after he goes to an extreme prison.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Executive Producers: David Metzler, Tom Forman, Jenny Daly, Jon Beyer, and David Kushner

Co-Executive Producers: Meredith Wright and Austin Flack

Director: David Metzler

Produced By: Critical Content

Format: Doc Series, 4 x 60 mins (binge drop)