This immersive three-part Netflix documentary series is the definitive account of what happened in Waco, Texas in 1993 when cult leader David Koresh faced off against the federal government in a bloody 51-day siege. The conflict began with the biggest gunfight on American soil since the Civil War and ended with a fiery inferno captured live on national television. In between, it riveted TV viewers across the globe, becoming the biggest news story in the world.
Released to coincide with the 30th anniversary of this national tragedy, the series is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Tiller Russell (Night Stalker) and features exclusive access to recently unearthed videotapes filmed inside the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit, as well as raw news footage never released to the American public, and FBI recordings. It is driven by intimate and revealing interviews with people from all sides of the conflict, including one of David Koresh’s spiritual wives, the last child released from the compound alive, a sniper from the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit Chief, the key journalists covering the story, as well as members of the ATF tactical team who watched their colleagues die in the shootout against members of the religious sect. Using cutting-edge visual technology, Waco: American Apocalypse plunges viewers inside the multifaceted clash between the Branch Davidians and federal law enforcement in an epic drama about God and guns in America.
“Since this story first erupted thirty years ago, it’s fascinated the world as an iconic and tragic moment in American history. A prophetic leader with an apocalyptic vision, a fierce debate over the right to bear arms, and testing the constitutional limits of religious freedom—it has powerful and provocative elements that still reverberate today. The details of what happened during the 51-day stand-off are complex and often ferociously debated, but rather than assigning blame or pointing fingers, we tried to treat it from a deeply humanist perspective—focusing on what it feels like for people on all sides to be caught in the maws of history,” said director and executive producer Tiller Russell.
