True to her body of work, which has seen her portraying real people such as Marcia Clark and Linda Tripp, Sarah Paulson is about to don a new persona based on another infamous figure. This time, she has signed on to executive produce and star in a new scripted series for HBO Max based on their hit docuseries, “The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin.” In the five-episode biopic, Paulson will play the starring role of Gwen Shamblin.
The original docuseries by Marina Zenovich consisted of three episodes. These episodes documented the ups and downs of the remarkable Gwen Shamblin story, from her humble beginnings as a weight loss consultant to the allegations of abuse from the congregants of Remnant Fellowship. Remnant is the church she founded in 1999 as an offshoot of her religious weight loss program.
Along with running her church like a cult, Shamblin was accused of encouraging child abuse. Notably, a couple from Remnant Fellowship was convicted for the abuse and murder of their eight-year-old son in 2007. It’s alleged that the couple were following Shamblin’s recommendations to whip their son with belts, glue sticks, and coat hangers. This story is also recounted by witness interviews in “The Way Down.”
Although the producers of “The Way Down” had reached out to Shamblin and members of the church, the subject of the docuseries declined to participate. Then, Shamblin unexpectedly died in a plane crash on May 29, 2021, when the series was in post-production. In response, producers edited footage for two additional episodes, which depicts the aftermath of the guru’s death.
Alongside Paulson, Melissa Dean, Marina Zenovich, Nile Cappello, Ross Dinerstein, P.G. Morgan, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Chrissy Teigen are attached at executive producers. Melissa Dean was the co-creator of Hulu’s “The Act,” which is a another scripted drama series that was based on a true story.
