The CW unveiled one of its more ambitious projects in quite awhile on Tuesday night. "Cult" is a show about a show, as well as a show within a show. The premise isn't exactly simple. "Cult" is a series about what's happening around a fictional show called "Cult." The show within the show is a CW drama starring Robert Knepper as a charismatic cult leader. Knepper also plays the actor who plays the cult leader on the show within the show. His "Cult" has a huge cult following, but the network would love for it to break out even more.
The show we're watching is about the fandom that has erupted around Knepper's "Cult." Specifically, it's about two brothers, Nate and Jeff. Jeff appears to have some compulsion issues -- and possibly more going on -- and at one point came to Nate about the show. He thinks the show "Cult" is somehow going to come and get him. Jeff had a hunch there was something more subversive going on than just making entertainment, and it turned out that he was right.
Adding weight to his words is the fact that the show's creator and writer is this unseen presence that no one can get a meeting with. And then, Jeff went missing. This puts Nate -- who happens to be a reporter -- on his trail and digging into the show. He gets some unexpected assistance from a new research assistant on the show, and thus the premise of "Cult" is established.
Add in a police detective who's apparently in on the conspiracy -- or cult -- and more twists and turns than the show within the show, and maybe the real CW can find a cult following for "Cult." The LA Times thinks that's exactly what they're trying to do, "by darkly satirizing many of the current forces that make a hit show."
Buddy TV loves its exploration of cult television, writing, "'Cult' is an absorbing and utterly original look at obsession and the way that obsession intersects with modern TV-viewing."
Follow your obsession back to "Cult," Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on The CW.
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