YOUTUBERS MYKA & JAMES STAUFFER The Adoption Scandal That Shook the Internet

HBO'S AN UPDATE ON OUR FAMILYTAKES A CLOSER LOOK AT THE INFLUENCERCOUPLE WHO REHOMED THEIR SON

- BREANNE L. HELDMAN. ZOEY LYTTLE

“If anything, my child is not returnable,” Myka Stauffer said in 2017 before adopting a son with special needs from China. The quote looms large over HBO’s new three-part docuseries An Update on Our Family, which revisits the viral rehoming scandal that pushed Myka and her husband James Stauffer’s family YouTube channel off-line. The series features videos shared by the couple before their decision to dissolve their adoption of Huxley and place him with another family.

Based in Columbus, Ohio, Myka, 37, a former nurse, and James, 39, a mechanical engineer, were already popular parents of three in the vlogger community when they shared their plans to adopt. As they documented that journey on YouTube, their popularity only grew, reaching around 700,000 subscribers. Huxley piqued fans' interest even before the 21/2-year-old made his debut on their channel in October 2017, and his integration into the family—the happy moments and the meltdowns—soon became a focal point of the Stauffers' videos.