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Sarah Paulson cast in series adaptation of The Way Down documentary

Sarah Paulson has been cast as real-life cult-like author Gwen Shamblin in a scripted adaptation of documentary The Way Down.

HBO Max has chosen the Ratched star as the lead in its previously-announced scripted adaptation of the documentary series The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin.

Shamblin rose to notoriety with her Christian-based diet programme, The Weigh Down, and her role in founding the Remnant Fellowship Church. She was later accused of emotional, psychological, and physical abuse, as well as exploitation for the church’s cult-like practices.

The Way Down docuseries, also by HBO Max, investigated Shamblin and her death in a plane crash in 2021 just before the series was set to be completed. It launched in September last year with three episodes, followed by two episodes after Shamblin’s death.

The documentary’s scripted adaptation was announced in April this year.

Michelle Dean will serve as showrunner and executive producer for the adaptation. As well as starring, Paulson will also executive produce.

Chrissy Teigen is another executive producer, working under her Huntley Productions banner.