Sarah Paulson will executive produce and star in the HBO Max scripted series follow-up to the documentary, “The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin,” Deadline reports.
“The Way Down” tells the story of Shamblin Lara, a diet guru and founder of the Remnant Fellowship Church who had been accused of engaging in cult-like practices. The docuseries launched in September 2021, just months after Shamblin Lara died in a plane crash.
The scripted version of the docuseries is still in development. Variety reports that in addition to Paulson, other executive producers include Marina Zenovich, who directed “The Way Down,” and Michelle Dean, co-creator of Hulu’s “The Act.” Dean will also serve as showrunner.
“The Way Down” will be Paulson’s latest venture into scripted series based on real-life events. She received a Golden Globe and an Emmy for her portrayal of Marcia Clark, the lead prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson trial, in the 2016 series, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.” She was also nominated for her role as Linda Tripp in “Impeachment: American Crime Story,” which was inspired by the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky sex scandal.
Additionally, Paulson has won critical acclaim for her appearances in the anthology series “American Horror Story,” on which she has played a variety of characters, and for her starring role in “Ratched,” which delves into the backstory of the iconic villain from the 1975 classic, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
