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An unavoidable byproduct of the streaming boom is overlap. Over the last few years, streaming giants have battled it out on shared true crime ground. Netflix and HBO Max both dropped miniseries detailing the case of Alex Murdaugh, The Murdaugh Murders and Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty. Hulu and HBO Max approached the podium with varying versions of the 1980 Candy Montgomery case, Candy starring Jessica Biel and Love and Death starring Elizabeth Olsen. Netflix and Peacock shared the Tiger King IP, with the latter dropping the scripted drama Joe vs Carole inspired by the former’s hit docuseries. The new model for true crime is seemingly, “Famous Case TBD (Streamer’s Version).” The next in line? The Waco siege.
Earlier this year, Netflix dropped a limited docuseries detailing the event called Waco: American Apocalypse. Now, Showtime has entered the ring with a new Waco iteration of its own. Waco: the Aftermath comes as a sequel series to the 2018 drama series, Waco, which aired on Paramount Network and CMT. The original series starred Taylor Kitsch as the Branch Davidian leader David Koresh, and Michael Shannon as Gary Noesner, an FBI hostage negotiator. Shannon reprises his role as Noesner in this new series, which follows the legal trials and resulting investigations that took place following the 1993 standoff.
So What Actually Happened in Waco?
If you’re unfamiliar with the Waco siege, here’s the rub; From February to April 1993, Texas state law enforcement and the FBI engaged in a deadly 51 day standoff at Mount Carmel Center ranch. On the other side of this standoff were the Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh. The Branch Davidians were a religious group that originated in 1955 and functioned on beliefs of an impending apocalypse and a second coming of Jesus Christ. In time, Koresh rose from feeble member to enigmatic leader—and not the good kind. In the early 1990s, Koresh faced allegations of child physical and sexual abuse, and was overall a terrible dude.
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In the weeks leading up to the 1993 siege, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) was alerted of a massive stockpile of weapons at the Mount Carmel Center. The FBI ordered a raid on the property, which led to 51 days of brutal violence between the authorities and the Branch Davidians. Koresh was killed in the siege and the compound was destroyed by fire. That’s where the original series, Waco, leaves us.
What Happened Next?
The events that unfolded following the deadly siege are the subject of this new series, Waco: the Aftermath. On one track, we see the trials of the surviving Branch Davidian members, led by Giovanni Ribisi as attorney Dan Cogdell, defending the survivors who maintain their dedication to their fallen leader. All of the Branch Davidians who stood trial were acquitted of murder charges, but some were found guilty of lesser charges including firearm charges and abetting voluntary manslaughter.
Among the FBI and ATF, there were leaders who criticized the strategy and events that occurred in Waco. The series opens on that sense of hesitance among the authorities but ultimately unveils a larger, lasting threat: a far-right militia movement. The debates and conversation around the strategy and tactics of the siege opened up the floor for a debate about government, with many taking the opportunity to profess their mistrust of U.S. law enforcement. This rhetoric fueled a nationalist Patriot movement, stemming from a small city in Oklahoma.
In April 1995, members of this rising nationalist group bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, citing their motivation as revenge for the Waco siege. In the end, 168 people were killed, 680 were injured, and more than 320 buildings were damaged.
Waco: the Aftermath provides an answer to the question, “So what?” In remembering the history of what happened in Waco, it is vital to highlight its lasting effects, especially given the political ebbs and flows of America over the last decade. Waco: the Aftermath is available to stream on Showtime.