In 1997, the world was shocked by the revelation that 39 people had committed suicide together, believing they could trans-substantiate into otherwordly beings and be taken up to heaven in a spaceship following the Hale-Bopp comet.
HBO Max's new four-part documentary series about Marshall Applewhite's Heaven's Gate cult explores how well-educated people from good families could victim to this strange belief system so completely that they would willingly end their own lives in its service.
Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults premieres December 2 on HBO Max.
Andy Hunsaker has a head full of sitcom gags and nerd-genre lore, and can be followed @AndyHunsaker if you're into that sort of thing.
TOPICS: Heaven's Gate: Cult of Cults, HBO Max