Featured Image Credit: Discovery+
Topics: Crime, True Crime, Netflix, TV And Film
Rhianna Benson
If you're in desperately need of a relaxing weekend in front of the telly (maybe you've gone a bit too hard at your mid-week work do, or you're just feeling a bit skint at the mo) then don't worry, we've got you covered.
That's because a brand new real life show has landed on Netflix this week, and has since left thousands of viewers in a state of sheer shock.
The limited series, Six Schizophrenic Brothers, tells the torturous tale of the Galvin family and explained from the point of view of the youngest of 12 children, Mary.
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Raised in Colorado to an Irish Catholic family, growing up with so many siblings was delightful in the early days, that was until six of Mary's 10 brothers were diagnosed with schizophrenia later in life.
The first sinister sign that Mary observed in the 1960s, was that that the eldest of the brood, Donald, 'dismembered a dog' in the bathtub of their home when she was just a child.
Whilst attending college, he endured symptoms like hallucinations and delusional thinking.
She recalls her mother also believing there was 'something going on' with second eldest son Jim at the time, and that the youngest boy Peter was prone to 'breaking all the windows' in the family home.
"It was like a snowball effect," she tells viewers. "My parents were just blaming themselves. There was so much despair, so much hopelessness and so much confusion.
"I didn't find out until much later, as an adult."
Over the next 15 years, three more of Mary's brothers would show signs of the condition which - back in those days - wasn't fully recognised as a mental illness.
The family's heartbreaking experience came to blows one day when they discovered that Brian, the fourth eldest, had murdered his own girlfriend before committing suicide.
"Never in [my parents'] worst nightmares did they believe such a thing could happen," Mary recalls. "Their children, young men who were so promising, ended up in a mental hospital."
The Discovery+ docuseries aims to draw attention to the horrific impact of this heartbreaking - and formerly misunderstood - condition, whilst debunking stigmas surrounding mental health.
And since landing on Netflix earlier this week, the show has left viewers utterly awe-struck.
"If you haven't watched Six Schizophrenic Brothers on MAX, you are missing out on a great in depth documentary," one penned.
Another went on: "Six Schizophrenic Brothers was absolutely heartbreaking. I can only imagine what that family went through."
"The Six Schizophrenic Brothers docuseries on MAX is absolutely heartbreaking. I have so much empathy for the Galvin family," a third continued.
And someone else added: "To everyone starting their journey into Six Schizophrenic Brothers you’re in for a doozy. The story is gut wrenching at times but well worth the watch."