Lifetime Announces All-New Octomom Movie & Six-Part Documentary Series This March with Natalie Suleman

On the heels of Lifetime’s mega-hit documentary The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the network now tells the real story of the woman the world knew as “Octomom.” As her octuplets turn 16 this January, Natalie ‘Nadya’ Suleman is finally ready to tell her story, her way, starting with the biopic, I Was Octomom: The Natalie Suleman Story, premiering Saturday, March 8 @ 8PM/7c.

The all-new movie, I Was Octomom, stars Kristen Lee Gutoskie (The Handmaid’s Tale, Chicago Fire) as Natalie Suleman; Caitlin Stryker (A Million Little Things) as her best friend Beth; and Anita Wittenberg (Cruel Instruction) as her mother Angela. Told from her perspective, the movie follows Suleman’s journey starting from her decision to have one more IVF procedure to complete her then family of six, to becoming a mother of 14, having survived her life being torn apart by the tabloid media.

Then starting Monday, March 10, Lifetime debuts the new series Confessions of Octomom @ 10PM/9c, immediately following the new season debut of Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up. The six-part documentary series follows Suleman as she provides an intimate look at her history and her life today as a mom of 14, and her newest role as a grandmother. With her octuplets turning sixteen this January and her other six children ranging from 17 to 23 years-old, Suleman has been out of the public eye for years and now, for the first time, Suleman and her 14 children reveal a much different life than the world has ever been privy to before. The series also follows the octuplets through their challenges and triumphs, growing up in the spotlight, and their desire to move beyond their now secluded life.

In January 2009, Suleman accomplished a miraculous feat, she became the first woman to give birth to eight children as a single parent with the help of IVF, only to have her life torn apart and her identity rebranded by the media. What could have been celebrated as an inspirational moment was turned negative when the public learned of Suleman’s motivations, her many IVF procedures, and how she conceived her previous six children. Suleman was scrutinized and made an example of how fertility treatments were spiraling out of control. As a single mom, she struggled to provide for her family, and she turned to offers from the media. As the tabloid media continued to cash in on the negativity that surrounded her, Natalie became one of the most hated women in the world, received death threats, and the legitimate offers dwindled. In a dark place but determined to beat the odds and keep her children all under one roof, Suleman did whatever it took to turn her life around and keep her family safe and together.

I Was Octomom is produced by Idaho Productions Inc. for Lifetime. Tim Johnson, Stacy Mandelberg, Amelia Burstyn and Natalie Suleman serve as executive producers and Navid Soofi produces. Brianne Nord-Stewart directs a script from Kelly Fullerton.

Confessions of Octomom is produced by NY27 Productions and Bunim Murray Productions, a Banijay Americas company, for Lifetime. Hilary Estey McLoughlin and Terence Noonan serve as executive producers for NY27 Productions, for Bunim/Murray Productions Julie Pizzi and Jesse Daniels serve as executive producers. Additional Bunim/Murray Productions’ Lifetime documentaries include the award-winning Surviving R. Kelly and The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson. Brie Miranda Bryant and Nicole Vogel serve as executive producers for Lifetime. Natalie Suleman produces.