With their secretive ways, strange beliefs, and conspiracies, it’s no wonder that pop culture has a bit of a fascination with cults. In both fiction and the real world, these groups and their leaders are often the centre of major scandals and even tragedies. If you’re looking for a new true crime niche or just an eerie fictional series, these TV shows about cults are for you.
Uncover the secret histories of some of the most infamous cults, from groups you’ve heard of in history books to some of the most recent groups to hit the news. Or, if fiction is more your speed, you can dive into carefully constructed mysteries penned by writers who were inspired by all sorts of secretive societies. Keep reading for a full rundown of some of the most intriguing cult-themed programming you can stream now.
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Aquarius
This semi-fictionalised series is set in 1960s Los Angeles, where LAPD detectives investigate a missing person case and find themselves going up against Charles Manson. While many of the characters and details are fictional, Manson and some of the stories surrounding his horrifying cult are very real indeed.
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The Following
A former English professor with an obsession with Edgar Allen Poe becomes a cult leader with followers willing to do anything he says, even murder. After he escapes from prison, a determined FBI agent with a personal stake in the case tries to track him down and stop him and his followers.
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Marvel's Runaways
One of Marvel’s more underrated shows, this series revolves around a group of six teenagers who discover that their parents might be part of a creepy cult that performs ritual sacrifices to appease a strange alien life force. It’s a blend of teen drama, superhero tropes, and all the creepiness that comes from a bizarre, secretive cult hiding right under everyone’s noses.
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Orphan Black
When a petty criminal steals the identity of a dead woman who looks just like her, she unwittingly starts to unravel a conspiracy that involves a whole array of identical clones. While it’s mostly a sci-fi show, the story’s bioengineering conspiracies and shady organisations hew more closely to cults than your standard-issue sci-fi villains.
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The Path
While on a spiritual retreat meant to strengthen his faith in a cult-like spiritual movement, a man has a vision that instead leads him to start questioning the group and its beliefs. As he struggles with his newfound realisations, the cult’s leaders attempt to spread their influence, and the FBI becomes suspicious of what’s really happening behind closed doors.
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Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
This one isn’t exactly about a cult, but more about a comedic, exaggerated look at the aftermath of one. After being rescued from a (tiny) cult devoted to a bizarre but charismatic man, Kimmy Schmidt has to learn what the real world is like, from finding an apartment to getting a job and discovering just how much she has to discover.
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Waco
Somewhat fictionalised but based on a true story, this miniseries follows the infamous 1993 standoff between the US government and the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, TX. Run by an eerie and charismatic leader, the cult enters a weeks-long standoff with federal agents at its compound, with deadly results.
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Jonestown: Terror in the Jungle
Produced in 2018, to mark 40 years since the tragic events of Jonestown in Guyana, this four-part miniseries investigates how the cult came to be so powerful and what led to the mass tragedy. It follows the rise of cult leader Jim Jones, traces the path to disaster, and directly interviews several survivors, all of whom have complicated feelings about their pasts.
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Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult
India Oxenberg, one of the more high-profile victims of the NXIVM cult, is at the centre of this documentary miniseries. Throughout the series, she offers a firsthand perspective on how recruits became enmeshed in the organisation and its abuses, while also coming to terms with her own sense of responsibility and fractured relationships as a result of her actions while in the cult.
