Starting in 2020, when it first premiered, Peacock has provided its audience with outstanding nonfiction programming. The uplifting Hardball: The Girls of Summer and the Sesame Street-based I Am Big Bird, as well as the harrowing true crime docuseries John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise, have all proven that the NBC streaming service can deliver when it comes to shedding light on interesting, and sometimes difficult to watch, topics. Their next documentary series, Shadowland, is a prime example of this. The six-part series will take viewers on a crazy voyage behind some of today’s most hotly discussed conspiracy theories; it was directed by Stephen Bailey, Alex Braverman, and Eve Van Dyke, and executive produced by famed documentarian Joe Berlinger.
A preview posted before the show’s premiere provides a sneak peek of the show’s content and the variety of perspectives viewers may expect to hear. Taking its inspiration from a piece published in The Atlantic, Shadowland explores the factors that have contributed to the country’s seeming schism in recent years. The series will centre on people who have called the media “fake news,” including a pizza shop owner who faces twenty years in prison for her role in the January 6th insurrection and an anti-vaxxer who claimed to have a cure for COVID-19. It will also feature the stories of people who believe the 2020 election was stolen. The video wastes no time in explaining the nuts and bolts of a conspiracy theory, illuminating the audience on how and why such beliefs may spread like wildfire.
Berlinger says he wanted to promote greater understanding by sending the film crew to different parts of the country so that the subjects could tell their own tales. The groundbreaking Paradise Lost trilogy and Netflix’s Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel director continued, saying that he hoped to “create an immersive experience” that would show “both sides” of the story and allow everyone to “express their views and, hopefully, create a dialogue that extends beyond viewers’ television screens.” Berlinger was not the only executive producer on the show; also contributing were Craig D’Entrone, Jon Kamen of RadicalMedia, Jen Isaacson, Jon Doran, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, Adrienne LaFrance, and Linzee Troubh. The film was co-produced by RadicalMedia and Third Eye Films.
Shadowland is being released as part of the streamer’s first annual Peacock DocFest, a six-week festival showcasing the finest of the streamer’s future documentary films. Every Wednesday from September 14 through October 19, a new documentary will premiere in theatres worldwide. On September 21, Peacock will release all six episodes of Shadowland at once, so settle down and get ready to binge.