Church of Scientology Launching TV Network to Tell Its ‘Side of the Story’
Amid growing criticism, the Church of Scientology announced via Twitter that it is launching its own streamable TV network on Monday to tell the church's "side of the story."
"The only thing more interesting than what you've heard is what you haven't heard," touts a promotional ad for Scientology TV. Featuring cruise ships and aerial views of the Scientology headquarters in Los Angeles, the ad somewhat resembles a promotional spot for a vacation destination.
Tweets about the new channel link to a YouTube ticker clock, counting down the minutes and seconds until the new channel premieres. Scientology TV—which will feature dianetics content 24/7—will be available on AppleTV, Roku, FireTV and Chromecast.
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The church hasn't released any other details about the show's programming.
The channel comes at an interesting time for the church, founded by late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1954. Although it has long been lambasted for enforcing questionable policies, public criticism reached a fever pitch in 2017 when actress and former scientologist Leah Remini debuted a docuseries that probes the church's litany of controversies.
Called Scientology and the Aftermath, the show digs into the disappearance of Michele Miscavige, the wife of church leader David Miscavige, and features interviews with former members who say they went broke trying to move up church ranks and were blackmailed by friends and family after leaving. The blistering series, which follows in the footsteps of the critically acclaimed HBO documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, also exposes the church's reliance on pseudoscience.
"You were either all in or all out," Remini wrote in her book Troublemaker, which chronicles her decision to leave the church after having been a member since childhood. "It is an extremist religion. There is no middle ground. And there within its structure lies the danger.”
Shortly after her show's debut on A&E, Remini alleged that church members had orchestrated a smear campaign against her and anyone she interviewed for the project.
The church, meanwhile, has denied claims made in both the Remini series and the HBO documentary.