Charles Manson docuseries Helter Skelter postponed by Epix in light of Black Lives Matter protests
- The six-episode series was to premiere June 14 on the premium cable network
- Helter Skelter was the track from The Beatles White album that prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi claimed Manson interpreted as foretelling a bloody race war
- The Manson Family killings of Sharon Tate and others in August 1969 were said to be an attempt to kickstart a race war
- Epix has not announced when Helter Skelter: An American Myth will be broadcast
Premium cable and satellite network Epix was due to premiere a new six-part docuseries abut Charles Manson this month.
But on Thursday, the MGM-owned entity decided to postpone the June 14 debut of Helter Skelter: An American Myth, Deadline.com reported.
The outlet explained that Epix felt it would be inappropriate to release the series with its title relating to Manson’s plans to incite a race war at a time when Black Lives Matter protests are taking place across the United States.
Premium cable network Epix has decided to postpone the release of its six-part Charles Manson docuseries Helter Skelter: An American Myth due to the Black Lives Matter protests
Epix has not announced when it now plans to air the docuseries.
In previous publicity for Helter Skelter: An American Myth, Epix described it as ‘the most definitive recounting of the Manson Family story ever put on screen.’
The network promised the series would ‘challenge everything viewers think they know about this bizarre chapter in American history.’
Manson, pictured after his arrest in 1969, was said to have been inspired by The Beatles’ White Album released in November 1968, and in particular the track Helter Skelter which he thought foretold a bloody race war
Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, pictured during the trial, claimed Manson believed he could kickstart the race war with the brutal killings of Sharon Tate and four others at her home on Cielo Drive in August 1969 as well as the murders the next day of Leno and Rosemary La Bianca
Protests have taken place across the United States, including in Los Angeles (pictured), following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis while in custody of a white police officer
The show features interviews and archival footage as well as chronicling the history of the Manson Family and the trial that followed the August 1969 brutal slayings of Sharon Tate and four others at the Los Angeles home Tate, who was eight and a half months pregnant, shared with husband Roman Polanski.
Manson and three of his followers – Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkel – went on trial in July 1970 for the Cielo Drive murders as well as the murders of Leno and Rosemary La Bianca.
During the trial, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi said the murders were inspired by Manson’s interpretation of The Beatles’ White Album released in November 1968, and in particular the track Helter Skelter which he thought foretold a bloody race war.
Bugliosi claimed Manson believed he could kickstart the race war with the killings.
Manson died on November 19, 2017, having been incarcerated since his trial after California abolished the death penalty in 1972 and his sentence was commuted to life in prison.
Epix has not announced when it now plans to broadcast the docuseries
Manson died on November 19, 2017, having been incarcerated since his trial after California abolished the death penalty in 1972 and his sentence was commuted to life in prison