Stitcher’s ‘Heaven’s Gate’ To Be CNN Docuseries

Stitcher’s documentary podcast Heaven’s Gate will be the basis for a four-part docuseries about the cult and its mass suicide, to be produced by CNN Originals.

Stitcher is owned by the E.W. Scripps Co.

The Heaven’s Gate podcast tells, for the first time, the story behind the formation of the Heaven’s Gate cult and its members’ 1997 mass suicide, the largest in U.S. history. Through key interviews and original reporting, the podcast explores the evolution of an idealistic group whose members aspired to a better, more connected and spiritually meaningful life.

Now the 10-part documentary podcast series, hosted by Glynn Washington, will be adapted for TV audiences as part of HBO Max’s first-ever CNN Originals program slate. HBO Max is a new streaming platform soon to be introduced by Warner Media.

“Two years since its initial launch, Heaven’s Gate remains an enduring hit within the Stitcher catalog,” said Stitcher CEO Erik Diehn. “We are thrilled that the original reporting for this series will serve as the framework for telling the story from behind the camera lens to reach even more engaged audiences.”

The docuseries is directed by Clay Tweel and produced by Ross Dinerstein of Campfire, the film and television production company known for Netflix documentary series The Innocent Man and Emmy-nominated Netflix Originals series Special. It is executive produced by Stitcher’s Peter Clowney, Erik Diehn, Eric Spiegelman and Chris Bannon.

The Heaven’s Gate podcast was produced by Jenna Weiss-Berman and Max Linsky from Pineapple Street Studios, in collaboration with Stitcher’s Peter Clowney and Chris Bannon.