HBO is joining forces with Breaking Bad’s Vince Gilligan and Michelle MacLaren, along with producer/actress Octavia Spencer, for a drama based on the Jim Jones mass murder-suicide tragedy at Jonestown in the 1970s. On November 18, 1978, members of the Peoples Temple killed US Representative Leo Ryan, journalists traveling with him and members of the group attempting to leave Guyana with the Congressman, who had visited Jonestown to investigate allegations of abuse of group members there. The story focuses on the warped mind of Jones and how he built the movement which lead to the massacre.
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The adaptation will focus on Jones, as well as his followers – and how so many of them came to give up their lives for this man. Gilligan also co-created the prequel, Better Call Saul, which is up for its second straight Best Drama Series Emmys.
Raven will be written and exec produced by Gilligan, with production by Sony Pictures Television and Gilligan’s High Bridge Productions. Raven will center on Jones as well as his followers, tracking the Peoples Temple’s history from its beginnings to its horrific conclusion. MacLaren is also on board as a director, while Gilligan is writing the script.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, A&E network is working alongside producer Jake Gyllenhaal on an anthology series focusing on cult leaders; Jim Jones will be the subject of season one. Almost 300 children of Peoples Cult members died at Jonestown, mostly from cyanide poisoning.
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Spencer is not now slated for an onscreen role in “Raven”.
