The Sheep Detectives (2026) – Adoption on the Big Screen

E035 | The Sheep Detectives (2026) – Adoption on the Big Screen Whodunnits are a staple of American popular culture, and so are adoptees, so it only makes sense that every so often they come together in a film made for the whole family! Amazon MGM Studios’ The Sheep Detectives stars Hugh Jackman as a shepherd in what G. Allen Johnson of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote “plays like an episode of Murder She Wrote—if Jessica Fletcher were a sheep instead of Angela Lansbury.” Join podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer as we try and solve the mystery of why adoptive parents in Hollywood feel the need to portray adopted people as money grubbing murderers. The Sheep Detectives was written by Craig Mazin and directed by Kyle Balda. It is based on the novel, Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. Subsequent to recording this episode, Sullivan had occasion to read it and, to no one’s surprise, it does not contain an adoption storyline. Forget our rant about the negative portrayal of adoptees, the real mystery is why American filmmakers think everything is made better by shitty adoption storylines. FFS. This episode of Adoption Pop! aired on August 5, 2026. In it we discussed and/or relied upon: G. Allen Johnson, “’The Sheep Detectives’ review: Hugh Jackman gets upstaged by sheep in this unexpectedly funny mystery,” The San Francisco Chronicle (May 6, 2026). Jacqueline Weiss, “Hugh Jackman’s 2 Kids: All About Oscar and Ava,” People (July 10, 2025). Bailey Bujnosek, “All About Hugh Jackman and Deborrah-Lee Furness’s Two Children, Oscar and Ava,” In Style (May 29, 2025). Oliver Milman, “Hugh Jackman on adoption in Australia: ‘It’s almost like they try to put you off,’” The Guardian (September 13, 2015). Abrazo Adoption Associates, “The Cost of a Broken Adoption Promise” (February 4, 2025). The Adoption Pop! theme music is The Chase by Audiogreen. We’d love to hear what you thought of this episode, and what you’d like for us to cover in the future. Find, follow, like, and subscribe to Adoption Pop! at our website, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Podcast journalist Haley Radke is at adopteeson.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Filmmaker Kristal Parke is at kristalparke.net, on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Cultural critic Sullivan Summer is at sullivansummer.com and on Instagram.