Reality

Leah Remini TV Series to Pull Back the Curtain on Scientology

One of the church’s most famous ex-members has landed a television show.
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Leah Remini, sitcom star and Scientology apostate (though not the apostate), has not been quiet about her many years with the secretive organization. (Scientology, not The King of Queens.) She’s given interviews and written a book, detailing her fears and concerns about the church. And she’s not done.

The Hollywood Reporter writes that Remini has signed a deal with A&E—the cable network most famous for televising interventions and filming Vera Farmiga’s descent into Lovecraftian madness and calling it Bates Motel—to make a show, one she’s already begun shooting, about Scientology. Supposedly, the show, which one assumes will be called Leah Me Alone!, will be about Remini’s experiences leaving the church, while also involving the family members of people still stuck inside. By my count, this show, which THR says will air sometime next year, will be the first television series about Scientology, unless you count That ’70s Show. (And, really, maybe we should at this point.)

Which could be fascinating. While there have been books and documentaries about the church—and Paul Thomas Anderson’s spooky mood piece The Master, partially based on Scientology’s origin story—they’re ultimately only fleeting glimpses. A regularly airing television series could, potentially, dive much deeper. The question is whether the show is more about Leah Remini or more about Scientology. It really depends on how cruel A&E wants to be to its legal team.

Personally, I’d be happy with either focus. Sure, it would be interesting to learn more about a secretive institution that has often been referred to as a cult, to gain more insight into the various mechanisms of the church and the lives of its members. But also? It would be kinda great to know more about Leah Remini! Like, how many times a week does she see J.Lo? Was there ever talk of a Malibu Sands Beach Club spin-off? And what is Kevin James really like??? These are all questions I think many of us want answered.

So, sure, some kind of weekly investigation into one of America’s greatest, most sinister oddities would be a welcome addition to the TV lineup. But at the same time, I’d love to hear some hilarious anecdotes from the Old School film set. We’ll just have to tune in when this show premieres to find out what kind of show it actually is.