One of the most notorious and infamous criminals in American history, Charles Manson also remains a major source of pop culture exploration, and his influence is as strong as ever. On the fictional side, Manson will be a major focus of Quentin Tarantino's Leonardo DiCaprio-starring Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but Fox is more interested in digging up some lost history for the upcoming TV special Inside the Manson Cult: The Lost Tapes, which will give viewers a few new looks at the deadly former inhabitants of Spahn's Ranch.
Inside the Manson Cult is set to debut on Monday, September 17, at 8:00 p.m. ET, on Fox. And on top of all the new and old footage and interviews shown therein, the special will be feature voiceover narration from Ray Donovan star Liev Schreiber. Perhaps interestingly, it's set to air ten months after Charles Manson's death by cardiac arrest, as opposed to airing closer to the one-year anniversary.
The two-hour Fox special was edited together after over 100 hours of video and audio footage were reviewed, and Inside the Manson Cult: The Lost Tapes aims to present a fully rounded look inside the Family's Spahn's Ranch. It'll feature new and archival interviews with former Manson followers such as Diane "Snake" Lake and Catherine "Gypsy" Share, and it'll also boast an exclusive new interview with the currently imprisoned Bobby Beausoleil, who was responsible for the first of the Manson-inspired murders, with friend Gary Hinman as the victim.
As well, Inside the Manson Cult will feature interviews with some folks outside Charles Manson's influence. One of those will be Stephen Kay, a prosecutor who spent years making efforts to oppose anyone within the Manson Family being awarded parole. As well, the special will spent time with renowned criminal profiler John E. Douglas, who served as the inspiration for Hannibal's Will Graham and for Mindhunter's Holden Ford, with Manson's reign of terror getting explored in the latter series.
Beyond the Quentin Tarantino flick, which has already caused some controversy, Charles Manson is also set to be the subject of The Family, potentially featuring Matt Smith as the cult leader. David Duchovny's ratings-challenged NBC miniseries Aquarius featured moments and events that Manson was involved with, and on the comedic side, 2015 gave us J. Davis' Manson Family Vacation. But the upcoming Fox special sounds like it'll be far more into mirroring reality than those projects were. You can watch the first look preview below.
So don't forget to tune into Fox on Monday, September 17, at 8:00 p.m. ET, to catch the world premiere of Inside the Manson Cult: The Lost Tapes. And to see what new and returning shows will be around in the meantime, head to our fall premiere schedule.
