Sarah Paulson to Play Christian Cult Leader and Diet Guru Gwen Shamblin in New Scripted Series Based on Docuseries at HBO

Sarah Paulson has taken on a couple of very notable roles over the past few years in which she has transformed herself to play real-life characters that have been in the public eye. She has portrayed Marcia Clark and Linda Tripp in different seasons of American Crime Story, garnering her both an Emmy win, as well as a nomination, and she has already agreed to play self-help writer Glennon Doyle in a future series as well. But in the meantime, she is taking on another recognizable role for HBO in which she will play the late Christian cult-leader and diet guru, Gwen Shamblin.

HBO announced it will be adapting its documentary, The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin, about the cult-like figure who died last year, into a scripted series, after its September release made it the streamer’s most-watched docuseries at time of release. Just before finishing the series, Shamblin and her husband died in a plane crash, and the team pivoted and produced two more episodes, talking to more people about the controversial Remnant Fellowship Church and its founder.

Paulson will play Shamblin, who rose to fame with her Weigh Down Workshop, a Christian-based diet program, and founded the Remnant Fellowship Church. She was a charismatic figure with a carefully curated image who was accused of emotional, psychological and physical abuse and exploitation for the church’s alleged cult-like practices.

Michelle Dean, who recently served as showrunner and executive producer on Hulu’s The Act, will serve as showrunner and executive producer of the scripted series, which comes from Ross Dinerstein’s Campfire Studios and Chrissy Teigen’s Huntley Productions.

via: Deadline