POPSUGAR UK

Netflix's New Docuseries Is About a Notorious American Cult You've Probably Never Heard Of

07/03/2018 - 05:25 PM

Prepare for a few chills to run down your spine, because Netflix just released the trailer for an upcoming six-part documentary series about a notorious cult [1] and its heyday in the 1980s.

Debuting on March 16, Wild Wild Country will explore the Rajneesh movement led by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, a self-appointed spiritual guru, in Wasco County, OR. At its peak, the cult had an estimated 7,000 members living in a rural community with its own infrastructure. Though predicated on meditation, free love, and a notion of communal living, the cult is perhaps most famous for being behind a 1984 bioterror attack on the town of The Dalles, OR [2]. In the carefully planned attack, members contaminated the salad bars at ten local restaurants with Salmonella. Fortunately there were no fatalities, but 751 residents were contaminated. The attack was meant to disrupt voter turnout in the coming local election so that the cult's own candidates in the race would win, which did not end up happening.

After United States Attorney Charles H. Turner began investigating the Rajneeshees for wiretapping and immigration fraud, they hatched a plan to assassinate him [3] and other Oregon officials. Rajneesh alleged that other people in the cult were responsible for the assassination plot. In 1985, Rajneesh was deported and returned to India, where he died five years later from heart failure.

Involving interviews with former members, the series will provide new details about what life was like as a Rajneeshee. If Netflix's other engrossing documentary series [4] are any indication, Wild Wild Country is going to be another must-watch. Check out the chilling trailer above.


Source URL
https://www.popsugar.co.uk/entertainment/Netflix-Wild-Wild-Country-Documentary-Trailer-44646471