Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath
Genre	Documentary series
Presented by	Leah Remini
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producer(s)	Eli Holzman Leah Remini Aaron Saidman Alex Weresow
Running time	60 minutes
Production company(s)	The Intellectual Property Corporation
Release
Original network	A&E
Original release	November 29, 2016 (2016-11-29)
External links
Website

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath is a documentary series aired by A&E in eight episodes commencing November 29, 2016. It is presented by the American actress, producer, author, and comedian Leah Remini. She was a follower of Scientology between 1979, when she joined at the age of nine, along with her parents, to 2013, when she left in acrimonious circumstances. She subsequently became an outspoken critic of the Church of Scientology and published a bestselling memoir, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology in 2015. The series explores the experiences of Remini and other former members of the Church of Scientology.^[1]

Overview

Each of the eight episodes is an hour long and follows Remini as she investigates "shocking stories of abuse, heartbreak and harassment experienced by those who have left the church and spoken publicly about their experiences".^[2] Former members of the church are interviewed by Remini and describe their experiences of Scientology and how they have continued to be affected by it even after leaving. She also speaks with a number of former high-ranking church officials who explain the background to the church's policies and organization, and how this relates to the experiences of ex-members.^[2]

In a statement issued by A&E, Remini explained the purpose of her series. She said that she hoped to "shed light on information that makes the world aware of what is really going on and encourages others to speak up so the abuses can be ended forever. I hope that people who have left now feel they have a safe place to go. I hope others who have also experienced abuses will come forward and help us to do something about it."^[2]

As part of the pre-broadcast publicity, Remini hosted an "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit in which she explained her views on Scientology and discussed the show.^[3][4]

Production

Scientology and the Aftermath was filmed over the summer of 2016. Remini serves as executive producer for her company, No Seriously Productions, with Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman co-producing under the aegis of The Intellectual Property Corporation. Alex Weresow is the series' showrunner and serves as another executive producer.^[5][6]

Episodes

The initial trailer for the series attracted widespread coverage after its first broadcast at the start of November 2016, featuring allegations including the rape of a minor and the church forcibly separating families.^[1]

Reception

Reviews

The show attracted lukewarm-to-moderately-positive reviews for its first episode. The Hollywood Reporter described it as "interesting, but unlikely to generate a following", commenting that while it would "stir up some viewer emotions" its format was not very dynamic, with "a lot of sitting around talking, interspersed with footage from fairly innocuous Scientology promotional videos and event interviews."^[8] Newsday felt that in the light of previous Scientology exposés such as the book and film Going Clear and Remini's own earlier book, "almost nothing here feels fresh or unexpected."^[9] The Los Angeles Times called it "a compelling, if unsophisticated, investigation" of Scientology and described its focus on harmed families "an effective strategy that will likely resonate with many viewers."^[10]

CNN saw the show as "a step up in class for A&E" that delivers "a sobering warning to those who might be susceptible to the [Scientology] sales pitch."^[11] While acknowledging the repetitive nature of Remini "hearing the same story over and over again", The Huffington Post commented that "under normal circumstances, the same story over eight episodes would make for a tedious and boring show, but “Aftermath” is telling a horror story, and the repetition is powerful."^[12] Salon suggested that the show's best asset was "Remini’s honest anger and frustration, both of which blaze across the screen in reaction to particularly damning revelations", but wondered who the show's audience was meant to be and questioned the extent of its appeal: "It is hard to fathom anyone other than the most hard-core obsessives sticking around to watch all eight installments of this limited series."^[13]

Scientology reaction

The Church of Scientology has been harshly critical of the series. Prior to broadcast, it issued a 530-word statement attacking Remini as a "spoiled entitled diva who still obsessively complains about petty matters" and is "joined at the hip with a collection of deadbeats, admitted liars, self-admitted perjurers, wife beaters and worse". The church's statement accuses her of "maliciously spreading lies about the Church using the same handful of bitter zealots who were kicked out years ago and whose false claims the Church refuted years ago, including through judicial decisions."^[1] It established a website dedicated to attacking Remini^[14] and its lawyers also sought to force A&E to abandon the planned broadcast of the show. In response, Remini demanded that the church pay her $1.5 million "compensation for the past, present and ongoing reputational, emotional and economic injuries and damages [Leah has] suffered."^[15]

Ratings

The first episode of the show was a major ratings success for A&E, attracting 2.1 million viewers. This represented the network's best premiere since Big Smo in 2014, and substantially exceeded the 1.65 million who watched the premiere of HBO's Scientology documentary film Going Clear in March 2015.^[7][16]

References