Netflix’s next docu-series, “Waco: American Apocalypse,” will dig into how cult leader David Koresh faced off with the federal government in bloody 51-day siege. Directed by Tiller Russell (“Night Stalker”), the upcoming series will feature three 50 minute episodes and premiere March 22, Variety has learned exclusively.
The launch date coincides with the 30th anniversary of the national tragedy. In 1993, TV viewers around the world became fascinated by the live reporting of the Waco conflict, which has since been touted as the largest gunfight on American soil since the Civil War. Original Productions (“Phat Tuesdays: The Era of Hip Hop Comedy,” “A Radical Life,” “Loan Wolves,” “Deadliest Catch,” “Bering Sea Gold”) is the production company behind this new series.
“Waco: American Apocalypse” features videotapes filmed inside the FBI’s Hostage Negotiation Command Post, as well as never-before-seen news footage and FBI wiretap recordings. The three-part series will include several interviews, including one of David Koresh’s spiritual wives, the last child released from the compound alive, a sniper from the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, the FBI’s chief hostage negotiator, key journalists covering the story and members of the ATF tactical team.
“Since this story first erupted thirty years ago, it’s fascinated the world as an iconic and tragic moment in American history. A prophetic leader with an apocalyptic vision, a fierce debate over the right to bear arms, and testing the constitutional limits of religious freedom⸺it has powerful and provocative elements that still reverberate today,” said director and executive producer Tiller Russell in a statement. “The details of what happened during the 51-day stand-off are complex and often ferociously debated, but rather than assigning blame or pointing fingers, we tried to treat it from a deeply humanist perspective⸺focusing on what it feels like for people on all sides to be caught in the maws of history.”
Russell, Greg Tillman, Jeff Hasler, Brian Lovett, William Green, Aaron L. Ginsburg, Dane Reilly and Edwin Zane serve as executive producers, each in association with the four separate production companies Tillerman Films, Original Productions, The Cut Productions and Looseworld.