Now Reading
Sarah Paulson Will Play Gwen Shamblin in ‘The Way Down’ Scripted Adaptation

Sarah Paulson Will Play Gwen Shamblin in ‘The Way Down’ Scripted Adaptation

If there’s one thing Sarah Paulson is going to do, it’s play a larger-than-life cult leader in an insane wig.

The American Horror Story star has signed on to the HBO Max scripted adaptation of The Way Down: God, Greed and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin as both a producer and the main star.

When she wasn’t sculpting her hair to look like a beehive, Shamblin rose to fame in the ’90s with her Weigh Down Workshop, a Christian-based diet program — because Jesus spent so much time talking about counting calories during his time on earth. Shamblin turned her success into the Remnant Fellowship Church where she became the church’s leader known for her emotional, psychological and even physical abuse tactics.

The HBO docuseries premiered last year and each episode was more shocking than the last. It’s hard to imagine how a scripted series could be more entertaining than the real story, but with Paulson on board, we’re intrigued.

View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply

© 2023 RELEVANT Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Scroll To Top

You’re reading our ad-supported experience

For our premium ad-free experience, including exclusive podcasts, issues and more, subscribe to

Plans start as low as $2.50/mo