I've got a bit of a fascination with cults and the people who lead them and the Peoples Temple cult led by Jim Jones has to be one of the more interesting and well known cases. Jones and his followers set up a commune called Jonestown in Guyana in the early 1970's which grew stranger and stranger until the tragic events of November 18, 1978 when United States Congressman Leo Ryan and four others were murdered attempting to leave Jonestown. Afterwards, Jim Jones convinced close to a thousand men, women and children to commit mass suicide.
Much has been written about the event and now Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad) will be bringing it to life in an HBO limited series. Based on "Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People" by Tim Reiterman, a journalist who survived the events in Gyuana, the series is described as "the definitive history of Peoples Temple from its idealistic beginnings to its terrible end in Jonestown" and will focus not only on Jim Jones, but also "on his followers, who, by and large, were ordinary people of good will. It tells the mysterious story of how so many of them came to give up their lives for this man." Gilligan will write and executive produce the series, dubbed Raven, and he'll also be reuniting with Michelle MacLaren, who will direct the limited series. Gilligan and MacLaren have worked together on The X-Files, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, yet another reason to get excited about Raven.
Which actor has the chops to bring Jim Jones to life?
Reverend Jim Jones photo by Nancy Wong, 1977.