So the news became official yesterday and there will be a third season later this year for A&E’s Emmy-winning docu-series, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.
And judging by what we’ve heard behind the scenes, there’s still time to develop the specific subjects of the upcoming episodes. Since that’s the case, this could be your chance to influence Leah Remini and Mike Rinder about what to include in the new season.
Leah’s first season was characterized by bringing to television the stories of individual former Scientologists who had been harmed by Scientology’s harsh and exploitative policies. The world got to know people like Mary Kahn and Brandon Reisdorf, and couples like Amy Scobee and Mat Pesch in Washington and Claire and Marc Headley in Colorado.
The second season brought more individual stories, but Leah dove deeper into Scientology’s darkest corners, with episodes on the cover-up of child molestation, worker suicide, and child neglect at places like the Mace-Kingsley ranches.
Also in the second season, Leah went harder at Scientology’s beliefs and history after previously saying that she wasn’t going to do that. We got terrific episodes in the second season about “OT 3” and “OT 8” and Scientology’s ludicrous ideas about past lives, and L. Ron Hubbard came in for a severe drubbing at the hands of biographer Russell Miller.
So, after all that, where can Leah and Mike go next? A&E executive vice president Elaine Frontain Bryant told Deadline, “I would say it’s certainly staying within Scientology, and I think there’s hope that there can be a little bit more action that can be taken, that it’s a little bit more active. That’s probably all I should say at this point.”
Get a little bit more active? Interesting.
Where would you like to see the third season go? Which stories still need to be given the Leah Remini touch? In what ways could the show be “more active”?
Leah and Mike are listening. Let them hear your ideas!
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SMERSH Madness 2018
It’s day three of our big dance! We’ve chosen 24 of the people we think are working hardest to defend Scientology against its enemies. These are not only Scientologists, but also the people who enable the church as it works against its foes. Which of them do you think deserves the most recognition for Keeping Scientology Working, spreading disconnection, and litigating former Scientologists into the ground?
If you weren’t around for our first tourney, five years ago, it’s really very simple. Cast a vote for your favorite, and in 24 hours we’ll make the call about who advances to the next bracket.
In our first match today, our #15 seed is attorney Gary Soter, who has been a sort of legal jack-of-all-trades for the church for many years. But he really earned his stripes as a Scientology legal thug when he sent A&E an incredible letter that was intended to derail the premiere of Leah Remini’s series, Scientology and the Aftermath. That first episode was about Amy Scobee, who says she was raped by a Scientology co-worker when she was only 14. But Soter tried to convince A&E that Scobee had been the “aggressor” in that sex act (and also that she was actually 16 at the time, which we demonstrated could not have been the case). In a just world, Soter would have been savaged by the press for that sleazy attack on behalf of his employer, but so far no other media organization has picked up our story, even though it’s based on a document which we made public and freely accessible.
Soter is taking on our #18 seed, that beloved figure of Scientology watchers everywhere, former church spokesman Tommy Davis. Although Tommy left his Sea Org position in 2011, he testified in a 2013 court case that he’s still a member of the church, and our readers certainly haven’t forgotten him. The good-looking son of actress Anne Archer, Davis came to prominence as Tom Cruise’s go-fer who then became the face of the church for several years as he sat for contentious interviews with the likes of the BBC’s John Sweeney, ABC’s Martin Bashir, and CNN’s John Roberts. More recently, Tommy spent a little more than a year playing at Hollywood studio head when he went to work for Australian billionaire James Packer, but now he’s back to working for billionaire real estate investor Tom Barack, one of Donald Trump’s key money-raisers. It’s been years since Tommy did anything overtly for the church, but he certainly left his mark and continues to remind people of the days when Scientology was more aggressive with the press.
In our second matchup today, our #10 seed is Nancy Cartwright, the voice actor famous for her work as Bart Simpson. In Scientology, she’s also known as “Her Royal Governness of the Vast Valley Territory,” because she took the lead on fundraising for so many years in order to complete the “Ideal Org” in the San Fernando Valley. But she’s also known inside Scientology celebrity circles as being a real hard-ass, riding other celebrities about staying on lines and making donations. An OT 8, Nancy is a bitter-ender who will stay with Scientology believing that someday, it will make her a god.
Nancy is facing our #23 seed, Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. Farrakhan has a long involvement with the Church of Scientology, and in 2010 he announced that his followers should all get training as Dianetics auditors. Since then, we’ve seen a lot of NOI members getting “Book One” (non-E-meter) auditing, but a few Nation of Islam members have also become involved in Scientology itself. One of them, Farrakhan’s chief representative in Los Angeles, Tony Muhammad, recently won a coveted “Freedom Medal” from David Miscavige. Farrakhan’s virulent anti-Semitism has him in the news recently, but it’s rarely pointed out that he has such a cozy relationship with Scientology.
There are your matchups of the day. Who deserves to move on as champions of Scientology? Who has done more to perpetuate the church’s reputation in this time of crisis? Cast your votes!
Yesterday’s winners: Kendrick Moxon shellacked Dave Lubow, and Bodhi Elfman upset Elisabeth Moss!
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Make your plans now!
Head over to our HowdyCon 2018 website to start making your travel plans!
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Bernie Headley has not seen his daughter Stephanie in 5,054 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 1,657 days
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 200 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 1,263 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,037 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 2,811 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 2,157 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 2,651 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 1,691 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 1,403 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 929 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,018 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 2,158 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 2,478 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 2,453 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 809 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 5,111 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 1,217 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 1,620 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 1,492 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,074 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 1,579 days.
Mary Jane Sterne has not seen her daughter Samantha in 1,823 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 12,932 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 15, 2018 at 07:00
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Our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2017 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2017), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…
BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts
Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news
