How to Become a Cult Leader

Look inside the cult leader's playbook for achieving unconditional love, endless devotion and the power to control people's minds, bodies, and souls. Disguised as a guidebook for capturing a devoted cult following, this docuseries takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the rise of six famed flock leaders. How to Become a Cult Leader is a television documentary series released on Netflix which examines how cult leaders recruit followers and control all aspects of their lives.

DocumentaryCrime

Seasons

1. Build Your Foundation

Air Date: 2023-07-28

Embrace your calling and reinvent yourself by studying the life of petty criminal and folk rock troubadour-turned-murderous legend Charles Manson.

2. Grow Your Flock

Air Date: 2023-07-28

Build a fervent following by retracing the steps of Jim Jones, whose messiah complex turned a small healing grift into a dangerously loyal congregation.

3. Reform Their Minds

Air Date: 2023-07-28

Return to Buddhafield and unlock the mastery of manipulation with Jaimie Gomez, a failed actor who built an army of servants by promising enlightenment.

4. Promise Eternity

Air Date: 2023-07-28

Apocalypse, anyone? Create credible danger and consolidate power by studying the spiritual, sci-fi narrative of Heaven's Gate leader Marshall Applewhite.

5. Control Your Image

Air Date: 2023-07-28

Leverage media coverage to cultivate a pious image like Shoko Asahara, who built the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo on positive PR and deadly methods.

6. Become Immortal

Air Date: 2023-07-28

Avoid unhappy endings and cement your legacy by studying Sun Myung Moon, who transformed the Unification Church into a still-thriving economic machine.

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