Actress and producer Sarah Paulson has been officially announced as the lead for HBO Max’s The Way Down, an upcoming TV adaptation of the life of Gwen Shamblin, a real-life cult leader. She founded the Remnant Fellowship Church and passed away last year. Michelle Dean, Patricia Arquette, and Joey King will also be joining Paulson as executive producers for the series.
Fully titled The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin, the new series will serve as an adaptation of the 2021 HBO Max series The Way Down, which followed Shamblin’s rise to fame through the founding of Weigh Down Workshop, a Christian diet program, and then the Remnant Fellowship Church, where Shamblin was accused of “unwelcome, cult-leader-like control” by ex-church members, according to Variety.
The original series was interrupted by Gwen Shamblin’s death in May of 2021, leading to the last two episodes – titled “Revelations” and “The Way Forward,” respectively – focusing more on the impact of the church and Shamblin’s charismatic and cultlike behavior.
Sarah Paulson and the Scripted Adaptation of ‘The Way Down’
Deadline first announced that HBO Max would produce a scripted adaptation of The Way Down in April of 2022. The newest adaptation, starring Sarah Paulson as Gwen Shamblin herself, will reportedly be split into two parts, with the first part examining Shamblin’s lasting legacy within the Remnant Fellowship Church and the second part investigating the mysterious circumstances behind the airplane crash that claimed the lives of Gwen Shamblin and her husband, Joe Lara.
Sarah Paulson is likely best known for her recent role as Linda Tripp/Marcia Clark in Impeachment: An American Crime Story, an FX anthology series focused on “America’s most notorious crimes and criminals.” Prior to that role, Paulson also portrayed Nurse Mildred Ratcheted in Netflix’s Ratcheted (2020), based on the 1962 prequel to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Some of Sarah Paulson’s other notable roles include Alice Macray in Mrs. America (2020) and Tammy in Ocean’s Eight (2018), where she starred alongside Anne Hathaway and Sandra Bullock.
The Way Down, starring Sarah Paulson, will be produced by Ross Dinerstein’s Campfire Studios and Chrissy Teigen’s Huntley Productions, with Paulson doubling as an executive producer alongside Michelle Dean, Ross Dinerstein, Chrissy Teigen, Nile Cappello, P.G. Morgan, Luke Dillon, Rebecca Evans, Ross Girard, and Marina Zenovich, who directed the original HBO Max series, according to Deadline.
Further details regarding The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin have not yet been announced, but the series will eventually be available to stream on HBO Max.
