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The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping

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The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping
GenreDocumentary
Directed byKatherine Kubler
Music byGia Margaret
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes3
Production
Executive producers
ProducerBrooke Workneh
CinematographyPeter Castagnetti
Editors
  • R. Brett Thomas
  • Sammy Smart
Running time61–66 minutes
Production companies
  • Fishbowl Films
  • OmniVision
Original release
NetworkNetflix
ReleaseMarch 5, 2024 (2024-03-05)

The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping is a 2024 American true crime documentary series, directed by Katherine Kubler. It follows Kubler and former classmates of hers from the Academy at Ivy Ridge, a behavior modification facility that was marketed as a boarding school, as they reflect on the abusive conditions they experienced in the program and the lasting trauma.

It was released on March 5, 2024, on Netflix.[1]

Premise

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Katherine Kubler, alongside her classmates from Academy at Ivy Ridge, reflect on and describe the horrors they experienced during their time in the program and how they coped with it. In many instances they confront perpetrators of The Program and their own parents for the first time, armed with new evidence acquired from the abandoned facility.

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byOriginal air date
1"Where The F**k Am I?"Katherine KublerMarch 5, 2024 (2024-03-05)
2"Mind Control"Katherine KublerMarch 5, 2024 (2024-03-05)
3"Follow the Money"Katherine KublerMarch 5, 2024 (2024-03-05)

Production

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After attending Academy at Ivy Ridge, Katherine Kubler wanted to make a documentary after seeing a lack of resources available to explain what had happened to her.[2]

Reception

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Critical reception

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On Metacritic, the series holds a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3]

Joel Keller of Decider praised the series writing: "The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping does a good job of showing the harrowing conditions at the Academy at Ivy Ridge and other disciplinary schools, while also showing the resiliency of the people who were sent there and endured those condition."[4] Nick Schager of The Daily Beast also praised the series writing: "Presents a terrifying insider's view of the institution and the lasting damage on those who attended."[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Video: "The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping" - Official Trailer - Netflix". The Futon Critic. February 21, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  2. ^ B. Waxman, Olivia (March 5, 2024). "How Netflix's The Program Docuseries Exposes the Troubled Teen Industry". Time. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  3. ^ "The Program: Cons Cults and Kidnapping: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  4. ^ Keller, Joel (March 5, 2024). "Stream It or Skip It: 'The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping' on Netflix, a Docuseries Where Former Students Revisit a Disciplinary School That Was a Torture Chamber". Decider.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  5. ^ Schager, Nick (March 5, 2024). "An Abusive, Cult-Like School for 'Troubled Teens' Gets Exposed". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
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