The Nose looks at the glut of cult docuseries

Cult documentaries and docuseries sure seem to be having a moment right now. (On the other hand.) This isn’t the sort of material The Nose usually gets into. But, and partly inspired by Cat’s Corner in the current edition of The Noseletter, we decided to give three popular new shows a look:

Escaping Twin Flames is a three-part Netflix docuseries that looks at the controversial online community Twin Flames Universe.

The Garden: Commune or Cult is a six-part Discovery Channel docuseries about the off-the-grid community The Garden.

And Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God is a three-part HBO docuseries that looks at the life and death of Amy Carlson, also known as Mother God.

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

• André Braugher Dies: Star Of ‘Homicide: Life On The Street’, ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ & Other Series And Films Was 61
• Golden Globe Nominations: ‘Barbie’, ‘Oppenheimer’ Top Movie List; ‘Succession’ Leads Way In TV
• The Year Twitter Died
• Nicolas Cage Says He’s Almost Finished: “Three or Four More Movies Left” The famously prolific 59-year-old actor says he’s eyeing a Hollywood endgame: “I’ve said what I’ve had to say with cinema.”
• ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Officially Ending With Season 12 at HBO “I will now have the opportunity to finally shed this ‘Larry David’ persona and become the person God intended me to be,” David says of ending his HBO comedy.
• The New Yorker Drops Andy Borowitz’s Satire Column Amid Cutbacks
• How ‘Mr. Brightside’ Became a Generation’s Anthem Overlooked at its release, the Killers’ signature hit has become one of the most inescapable rock songs of its time.
• A 25-Year-Old X-Files Mystery Was Solved on Twitter in Less Than 24 Hours
• 24 Things That Stuck With Us in 2023 Films, TV shows, albums, books, art and A.I.-generated SpongeBob performances that reporters, editors and visual journalists in Culture couldn’t stop thinking about this year.
• The Most Egregious Example of “We Didn’t Use CGI” Mythology (So Far)
• Strapped, stressed, axed: is it curtains for theatre’s artistic directors? Indhu Rubasingham has been named as the National’s new head. But elsewhere, theatres are ditching this once coveted role altogether. Can a theatre really manage without one?

GUESTS:

• Sam Hatch: Co-hosts The Culture Dogs on Sunday nights on WWUH
• Jacques Lamarre: A playwright and chief communications officer at Buzz Engine
• Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance
• Cat Pastor: Assistant radio operations manager at Connecticut Public

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