A&E Working with Jake Gyllenhaal on Anthology Series

PASADENA: A new anthology series exploring American cult personas is coming to A&E, in a partnership with Jake Gyllenhaal, Nine Stories Productions and A+E Studios.

The series will explore a different cult persona each season, starting off with the notorious Jim Jones story. A+E Networks will handle global sales for the series, which originated in development at A+E Studios last year. Gyllenhaal (End of Watch, Nightcrawler, Southpaw) and Riva Marker (Beasts of No Nation, The Kids Are All Right) will executive produce through their production banner, Nine Stories Productions.

“Riva and I founded Nine Stories to push creative limits, and have found a wonderful partner in A&E with this fascinating series,” Gyllenhaal stated. “Jim Jones is a complex character—one who has found his way into the collective unconscious. We want to focus on the undeniable magnetism of zealots and the danger of that kind of charisma, a notion not only pertinent to cult leaders but to the geo-political climate of today.”

A&E has also renewed its original docuseries Born This Way, which looks at the lives of young adults with Down syndrome. The network is bringing back Bates Motel for a fourth season, debuting March 7. The season premiere at 9 p.m. will be directly followed by the debut of the brand-new original scripted drama Damien, a continuation of the classic horror film The Omen.