This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
It’s been eight years since 18-year-old Conrad Roy died by suicide and, in a landmark case, his girlfriend, Michelle Carter, was convicted on involuntary manslaughter charge related to his death.
The tragedy is being revisited in the Hulu limited series “The Girl From Plainville,” starring Elle Fanning and Colton Ryan. Described by co-showrunners and executive producers Liz Hannah and Patrick Macmanus as a” fair” portrayal, the series will explore Roy and Carter’s relationship and how the trial impacted those who knew the teens.
On July 31, 2014, Roy died of carbon monoxide poisoning, with Carter texting him to “get back in” the car when he told her that he didn’t know if he wanted to take his life, according to prosecutors, as reported by NBC News.
Carter, who was released from prison in January 2020, has yet to publicly address the TV adaptation.
Chlo Sevigny plays Roy’s mother, Lynn St. Denis, who told People that she hasn’t seen the series and is worried “there may be an attempt to defend some of [Michelle’s] needless and evil actions.”
E! News reached out to Hulu for comment.
But St. Denis is aware that ‘The Girl From Plainville’ will bring renewed attention to the case, which may help her in her quest to make Massachusetts the 43rd state to criminalize suicide coercion.
St. Denis said she was motivated to work with lawmakers on the bill, called Conrad’s Law, because she doesn’t “want another family to deal with what I had to deal with.”
‘The Girl From Plainville’ showrunners have already promised that they approached the project with sensitivity, with Macmanus telling Entertainment Weekly in January that as an executive producer, Fanning was very considerate of people’s feelings. “She wanted it to be an honest portrayal of not just these families and what they went through,” he said, “but from what people are going through in general on a day-to-day basis when it comes to their mental health.”
Macmanus added, “At the end of the day, yes, I do want people to be entertained by the story, but more than anything, I hope that it’s the beginning of a conversation — that we help the conversation for everyone who’s affected by mental illness, not just teenagers.”
“The Girl From Plainville” premieres March 29 on Hulu.
If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
