"Cult" and Fandom

Of all the mid-season television offerings that are premiering over the next two months, there was one in particular that caught my eye. The CW will be premiering "Cult" on February 19th, a mystery drama about a series of disappearances that are tied to the fandom of a popular television show. Creator Rockne S. O'Bannon, veteran of many science-fiction programs, claims that he came up with idea while working on "Farscape," which had a healthy and boisterous fanbase back in the early 2000s. So far most of the press coverage has been focusing on the twists and turns of the development of "Cult," which was originally slated to air on the WB network before the merger, and resurrected six years later after some retooling.

At the center of "Cult" is a popular television crime series, also titled "Cult," which follows the efforts of a detective, Kelly Collins (Alona Tal), to take down a charismatic cult leader, Billy Grimm (Robert Knepper). The show has a fanatical following that searches for clues to its mysteries in a manner that recalls the devotees of "Lost" trying to make sense of those bizarre early seasons. One of these "Cult" fans is Nate Sefton (James Pizzinato), who becomes paranoid that someone is out to get him. After Nate disappears, his reporter brother Jeff (Matt Davis), recruits "Cult" production assistant Skye (Jessica Lucas) to help him investigate the extreme "Cult" fandom to find out what's going on. The show within a show promises meta in abundance, and plenty of opportunities to jab at show biz conventions.

By all indications, the portrayal of the fandom experience is not going to be too positive. That's fine, because fandom has its unsavory side like everything else, but my worry is that "Cult" is going to demonize obsessive fans in a way that's not really fair to them. I've been a participant in media fandoms for well over a decade now, and worked some minor events and autograph lines in my time. I've heard plenty of the horror stories and the seen some of the crazy stuff up close. You've got the usual stalkers and conspiracy theorists, especially in the fandoms with photogenic actors like "Supernatural" or "Twilight." Occasionally you've got the scammers who will exploit fan goodwill to make a profit. "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" had a couple of these when they were at their height. Fan conventions always seem to be a never-ending source of drama, frequently an excuse for reckless behavior. And then there are the seemingly normal folks who just lose their goddamned minds if you put them within a certain distance of their favorite star or creative genius.

Over the years there have been enough bad incidents and general negativity associated with crazy fans that they've given fandom a bad reputation. Individual fans may be singled out for praise if they draw nice fan art or manage to convert their porny fanfiction into a surprise bestseller, but fandom as a whole tends to be viewed with suspicion and wariness by Hollywood and by proxy, everybody else. While it's true that there are those fans that completely lose perspective and truly deserve to be called fanatics, by and large fandom is pretty harmless. It's just a bunch of bored nerds and geeks finding common ground through media. Not very sexy at all. Even when there is a fringe element, it's mostly composed of young, undersocialized kids with deeper problems fueling their bad behavior, and they usually come off as more pitiable than threatening. Next to rioting sports fans and religious zealots, there's no comparison. Of course, from the point of view of the objects of their devotion, media fans probably look much less benign.

The idea of "Cult," the show within a show, spawning a real cult is not such a silly idea in a world where Scientology exists, but it smacks of a certain degree of vanity. Has an television show really managed to fuel dangerous fanaticism? I can think of a few notable nutters who happened to be fans of certain shows or movies or video games, but nothing as organized or as dogmatic as what "Cult," the CW show, seems to be leaning towards. No, the grand conspiracies and puzzle games of a show like "Cult" have almost no basis in reality. They're just a new spin on the common procedural formula. And I expect that it's going to have its work cut out for it trying to attract a real audience, trying to sell a convoluted gimmick like this.

What I'm really interested in is what "Cult" will say about the love-hate relationship between creators and fans. Thanks to the internet and social media, the two sides are edging closer than ever before, with some notable instances of friction. So how much responsibility does the creator of "Cult" have if his work inspires so much fanaticism? How about the media in general? These are questions that I don't expect "Cult" will be in hurry to answer, but they're the ones I think will have to be answered eventually if "Cult" wants to honestly explore the phenomenon of media fandom. After all, what's a fandom without the object of its affections?
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