Farrah Fawcett's son reportedly got leave from jail to say goodbye to his mother after her cancer battle took a turn for the worse in recent days.
Authorities at the Twin Towers correctional facility in Los Angeles granted Redmond O'Neal's release on Friday, the same night an estimated 8.9 million viewers tuned in to watch "Farrah's Story," an emotional video diary chronicling her two year fight against the disease, In Touch reported.
"Farrah's Story" details the former "Charlie's Angels" star's treatment and hopes for recovery, following her through chemotherapy and other grueling treatment. Fawcett, 62, was diagnosed in 2006 with anal cancer that has spread to her liver.
Redmond, 24, is currently serving time for drug charges. During the film, he is shown visiting his ailing mother, his legs still shackled. Fawcett does not know her son is incarcerated, according to the New York Daily News.
The film was NBC's most-watched program in its Friday night time slot in more than a year, excluding the Olympics, according to preliminary ratings released Saturday.
It was edged out by CBS' airing of the season finale of the crime drama "Numb3rs," which drew an estimated 9.6 million viewers.
Fawcett's video diary was initially intended for private viewing by family and friends, but was shared with a wider audience after the actress realized her story could inspire others, said her close friend Alana Stewart, a producer on the film.
“There were things that I thought were too invasive to film,” Stewart said about the process. “But Farrah said, ‘Film it. This is what cancer is.’”
The actress maintains good humor during the film as she faces pain, setbacks and, as the treatments grow harsher, the loss of her trademark lush blond locks.
"I do not want to die of this disease. So I say to God, 'It is seriously time for a miracle,'" Fawcett says.
Her longtime companion, actor Ryan O'Neal, said in an interview last week that the actress is in a "very rocky place."
O'Neal is shown in the documentary as a steady presence as the actress goes through highs and lows, although the two ended their long romantic relationship in the late 1990s.
But O'Neal has said he's never loved her more and wants to wed the cancer-stricken star.
