HBO Documentary Films is currently in production on a documentary series exploring the NXIVM sex cult case, which implicated former “Smallville” actress Allison Mack among others.
The series, which is to be directed by “The Square” and “Control Room” helmers Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer, will follow a range of people who joined the NXIVM self-improvement group and take a “deep, nuanced look at experiences of its members, spotlighting their universal desire for personal growth.” Noujaim’s interest in the subject began in 2010 when she took NXIVM’s introductory “Executive Success Program” workshop.
According to prosecutors, Mack helped recruited women into NXIVM, a network of self-help programs based in Albany, N.Y. The recruits were told the group would help with women’s empowerment, however, prosecutors say the organization was set up like a pyramid scheme, with courses costing thousands of dollars. Prosecutors also allege that the leader of the group, Keith Raniere, established a secret sex cult within the organization, in which “slaves” were branded in their pelvic areas with his initials.
Mack recently pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn federal court to her involvement in the NXIVM sex cult case. She is accused of coercing two of her “slaves” into having sex with Raniere, for which she received financial benefits.