HBO Max is Producing a Four-Part Docu-Series That Tells The Story of the Heaven's Gate Cult
In 1997, 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate cult committed mass suicide in San Diego, CA. They believed in doing so that they would reach an extraterrestrial spacecraft that was trailing the Hale–Bopp as it passed by.
I remember seeing reports of this on the news and seeing the videos that were released of the cult leader Marshall Applewhite. That guy freaked me the hell out! Well, HBO Max is producing a four-part documentary series about Heaven’s Gate and it will focus on the fame, fortune and power from Marshall Applewhite.
The series is being developed by CNN Original Series, and it will explore “the infamous religious movement and the stranger-than-fiction circumstances that culminated in the biggest mass suicide to ever take place on U.S. soil.”
The series will be directed and executive produced by Clay Tweel (Gleason) and this is a story that I’ve been fascinated with for years. It’ll be interesting to see a doc take a deep dive into the cult. I’m sure it will reveal and show things that we’ve never seen before.
In case you weren’t aware, the original website from the 90s is still active! It was never closed out. You can check it out here if you’re curious. It still has the same look from the 90s. It’s actually kind of eerie.
There are three other docu-series in development for HBO Max. They include the following:
Generation Hustle - “A10-part series from Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions, which recently produced HBO’s The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley. It looks at the lengths young people will go to for fame, fortune, and power. The series will be executive produced by Yon Motskin, Stacey Offman, and Richard Perello.”
The Scoop - “a documentary feature produced by CNN Films that follows the lives of CNN’s female political reporters as they cover the most unpredictable presidential campaign in American history. The behind-the- scenes documentary draws from access to the campaign press corps and reveals how these political reporters deal with the candidates as well as with the challenges of life on the road.”
Persona - “a documentary feature produced by CNN Films that explores the origin story of America’s obsession with personality testing. Embedded in everything from dating sites to job applications, Persona reveals the ways personality testing has formed and influenced the world around us.”
Sarah Aubrey, head of original content, HBO Max said this in a statement:
“We are tremendously inspired by CNN’s history of award-winning documentary storytelling and journalistic integrity. This slate of projects with CNN demonstrates our power as a media family to create quality programming that covers the captivating and critical issues of today.”
What do you remember about the Heaven’s Gate cult? Is this a doc series you’d be interested in watching?