Netflix has become one of the biggest platforms for one of the most popular genres of entertainment today: true crime TV. If you don’t believe it, look no further than the latest true crime movie that has hit the streaming service. Since being released on December 30th, the new film has shot up the streaming charts, racking up over 25 million hours of viewing time. More than that, the true crime documentary feature has dethroned Netflix’s biggest holiday releases, knocking KPOP: Demon Hunters into the no. 2 spot, and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery into the no. 3 spot. The Kate Winslet drama Goodbye June (no. 4) couldn’t best it, nor could a major family Christmas movie like Illumination’s The Grinch.
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Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is the no. 1 film to watch on Netflix right now. As of the time of writing, the film is currently at the number 1 spot in the US and 18 other countries, while also cracking Netflix’s Top 10 in a total of 55 countries. That’s quite a feat, considering that the film is a very American story (set in Utah’s Mormon community), which doesn’t have as much of a sensational draw as, say, a serial killer or missing person’s story. However, the film is clearly making a profound impact.
Evil Influencer Is A Story Most People Don’t Know That They Know
In August of 2023, therapist and YouTube star Jodi Nan Hildebrandt was arrested along with her brand partner, Ruby Franke. What ensued thereafter was a shocking exposé about what was truly going on behind closed doors within the mom/parenting influencer community.
Hilderbrandt and Franke had launched a YouTube channel, “ConneXions,” in 2022, alongside their Instagram account “Moms of Truth.” The move was actually a rebrand of Hilderbrandt’s ConneXions business from the late-2000s, where she served as a counselor in Utah, eventually getting accepted into the state’s LifeStar counseling service, which “specialized” in psychiatric and psychological treatments for “problems” like sexual temptation and self-indulgence in adult entertainment.
However, Hildebrandt was eventually put on professional probation in 2012, after it was discovered that she had disclosed a client’s personal information about his sexual proclivities to the Mormon church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ultimately suspended her from its counselor referral list; Hildebrandt would still practice therapy privately, employing unorthodox and even abusive methods of “treatment.” She was very good at convincing couples and families (devout ones in particular) that her harsh methods were the righteous wisdom of a prophet, carrying out God’s directive.
Hilderbrandt formed a close bond with Ruby Franke and her family, eventually usurping control of the family and convincing Ruby to join her in her “holy mission.” Their videos were so extreme in their approaches to parenting and discipline that they sparked controversy within mommy/parenting YouTuber circles. However, things took a big turn when Ruby Franke’s twelve-year-old son escaped their “treatment center” and wandered to a nearby neighbor’s house. The boy was severely starved and covered in bruises and wounds, including major indications of forcible restraint and bondage. That horrible discovery opened the door to a much darker reveal about what was taking place in the quiet Mormon community.
Evil Influencer Isn’t the Only Version of the Story
It’s even more impressive that the Netflix docufilm is seeing such massive popularity with viewers, as it’s the third film or TV series to explore the case.
Heather Locklear and Emilie Ullerup portrayed Jodi Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke (respectively) in the 2024 Lifetime movie Mormon Mom Gone Wrong: The Ruby Franke Story. That TV movie sparked its own controversy, as it was done without contact or consent from (or compensation for) Franke’s family, who eventually spoke out against the movie. In early 2025, Hulu released a docuseries, Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, which featured the other members of Ruby Franke’s family telling their side of the experience. Then came Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence, a docuseries released on Discovery/HBO Max last September. It was more hyper-focused on the relationship between the two women.
Evil Influencer is striking a major chord with many viewers because it highlights how Jodi Hildebrant and Ruby Franke’s story is one of the biggest and most recent cases dealing with the dark side of influencer life. The bubble of the influencer era is arguably in danger of bursting soon (especially with the rise of AI), and Evil Influencer is Netflix unabashedly staking a claim to that particular lane of true crime content.
You can stream Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story on Netflix.
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Image Courtesy of Netflix
