Helter Skelter Docuseries Will Explore Manson Family on Epix

Quentin Tarantino tried to steal the swinging sixties aura Tinseltown back from the murderous late sixties spree which ground the decade of love and peace to a close. But a new exposé takes an almost forensic look at the Tate–LaBianca murders. A comprehensive Manson Family docuseries Helter Skelter, is coming to Epix. Produced by Warner Horizon Unscripted Television, it will premiere June 14.

The six-part docuseries was executive produced and directed by Lesley Chilcott. Her recently-directed feature documentary, Watson, is currently being broadcast in over 50 countries on Animal Planet. She also directed CodeGirl, A Small Section of the World, and produced Waiting For “Superman,” It Might Get Loud, and An Inconvenient Truth. “Helter Skelter set outs to illuminate new perspectives on one of the most legendary crimes of our time,” Chilcott said in a statement.

“Before the Menendez brothers, OJ, and Ted Bundy, there was the biggest story of murder and crime in the modern age,” reads Epix’s official statement. “Over 50 years have passed since Charles Manson and his cultishly devoted followers committed their horrific crimes, and yet, the public remains truly in the dark about the Manson Family and their journey into the abyss.  How can one story be so well known, so legendary, and yet so little understood?”

The documentary is also being executive produced by Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter for Berlanti Productions and Eli Frankel for Rogue Atlas Productions.

“Helter Skelter is an edge-of-your-seat thriller about a small-time con artist who spearheaded one of the most unspeakable murder tragedies in history,” Brooke Karzen, the executive vice president and head of Warner Horizon Unscripted Television, said in a statement. “It explores the age-old question: are killers born or are they made?”

Helter Skelter promises to “upend what people think they know about this layered and complex story and cast an entirely new light on this Crime of the Century,” according to the press statement. “Helter Skelter’s bone-chilling narrative is rooted in one of the most infamous and fascinating crimes of the past several decades,” Epix President Michael Wright said in a statement.

The series features never-before-accessed interviews with journalists who were first on the scene and in the courtroom. The filmmakers also talk with former family members. The story weaves their narratives with archival footage and newly-unearthed images. 

Helter Skelter premieres June 14, 2020, at 9 p.m. on Epix.