With releases about the death of Laci Peterson, the Zodiac Killer, and the heartbreaking rollercoaster that wasInto the Fire: The Lost Daughter, 2024 sawNetflixdebut some ofthe streamer’s most disturbing documentaries in recent memory, but one of the year’s earliest projects is an underrated achievement that still remains relevant today.The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnappingis a difficult-to-watch, three-part docuseries that garneredsignificant popularity when it first premieredon March 5 of last year, thougha lack of critical attention made the title’s success short-livedand subsequently easy to miss for future viewers.
Nevertheless, the fact thatThe Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnappingremains the rare release that still holdsa perfect critical score on Rotten Tomatoesproves this miniseries is perfect for fans ofTrue Crimeand socially conscious members of the public alike. In a year which also saw intense interest in the true story behind Netflix’sDancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult,The Programis sure to fascinate and infuriate viewers in equal measure. Going back decades to investigate an overlooked sin of American society, the docuseries will keep you on the edge of your seat as it uncovers one fresh horror after another, leaving audiences to grapple with a hidden history that still persists in the darkest corners of the country today.
What Is ‘The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping’ About?
Judging by the documentary’s dramatic title, it would be easy to believeThe Programfeatures the same kind of villainous institution you’d expect to find brainwashing children in campy spy classics and superhero movies,which only makes the series' reality that much more horrifying. Directed by and starringKatherine Kubler, the docuseries begins with Kubler leading a group of her former classmates back through the ruins of what used to be the Academy at Ivy Ridge, a short-lived boarding schoolwhere Kubler’s group relives its shared past in orderto expose the school’s dark secrets. What follows is an unflinching glimpse into the horrors endured at this dark institution, as well as a searing criticism of the events that led up to each student’s forced enrollment.
Even for a genre that frequently unpacksfacts more unsettling than fiction, Kubler’s series is extremely unnerving, and the level of oppressive control lorded over Ivy Ridge’s students would be unbelievable if it wasn’t laid out so brutally for viewers. The documentary’s first two episodes go to great lengths to describe how students were forbidden from talking to friends, smiling, or even looking out the window of their classrooms, as well as howthis culture of fear resulted in the frequent physical and sexual abuse of students. What’s more, Kubler and her former classmates were also subjected to cult-like seminars meant to emotionally manipulate students against themselves. These abuses left those who survived Ivy Ridge with long-lasting damage to their mental health, taking advantage of children at their most vulnerable whilesubjecting them to such stifling conditions that one survivor claims they were worse than prison.
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‘The Program’ Spotlights the Extensive Horrors of America’s Troubled Teen Industry
As though the horrors of Ivy Ridge weren’t bad enough,The Programmakesits most shocking and topical revelations once Kubler turns her attention beyond her personal experiences. Exploring a global network of similar schools operating under a larger organization, the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (or WWASP), Kubler’s docuseries subsequently compilesa history of institutional child abuse that is bound to leave even the most seasoned true crime viewer outraged. The scale of abuse at these schools is eventoo extensive to be fully explored in the series, though Kubler efficiently unpacks the history of WWASP and its troubled founder,Robert Lichfield, whose own fate both during andafter the tragedies at Ivy Ridgeis bound to leave you with plenty of familiar frustration at the American justice system’s failings.
Beyond the specifics of the many crimes committed at WWASP schools, however,The Program’s most important accomplishment isdrawing more attention to the malice at the heart of America’s troubled teen industry. In a business where parents are convinced that it’s somehow okay for strangers to steal their children in the middle of the night, Kubler illustrates how old-fashioned attitudes about scaring children straightresulted in a business model that exploits both kids and parents for profits that continue to pile up today. Thankfully, other former students of Ivy Ridge found the courageto lodge formal complaints against the academythe week afterThe Programaired, and more recently,a reform bill championed byParis Hiltonand other survivors passed both chambers of Congress. That said, with more facilities like Ivy Ridge still open and children still being kidnapped for the sake of corporate gains,The Programremainsan important call to action to oppose the real troubles plaguing teens.
The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnappingis available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
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The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping
Through gripping interviews and never-before-seen footage, an investigative documentary unravels the complex layers of a controversial group claiming to offer personal enlightenment. The narrative reveals how the organization’s charismatic leader exploited loyal followers for financial and personal gain, leading to a tragic and inevitable downfall.
