The project will retell the events of April 19, 1993, where the Branch Davidian cult came to a fiery end after a 51-day siege by the FBI.
It’s no surprise that the Weinstein Company’s focus has been moving toward their television division, with their serious-minded films failing to make money at the box office these days. So much compelling dramatic content can be found on TV and streaming services, so why break the bank on a feature when you can sell a series in the era of Peak TV? That ideological shift, mixed with audience’s renewed interest in the true crime genre can help explain why Weinstein Television is developing a high profile series centered on the 1993 Waco, Texas/Branch Davidian tragedy.
The limited series, Waco, will see Friday Night Lights star Taylor Kitsch portray Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresch, with Michael Shannon (Man of Steel, Midnight Special) on board to play FBI negotiator Gary Noesener. Rapper Ludacris (Fast & Furious series) is being courted for the role of Branch Davidian member Wayne Martin.
Waco will be based on the true events from 1993, where the Branch Davidian religious sect, an off-shoot of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and led by the deceptive David Koresch, holed up in their Waco, Texas compound for 51 days after the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives obtained a search and arrest warrant on suspicion of weapons violations. The siege resulted in a deadly shootout between Koresch’s followers and the FBI before escalating into a raging fire that burned the compound down, killing 76 people, including Koresch, in the process. Only nine Branch Davidian members survived.
Brothers John Erick and Drew Doddle (No Escape) are writing the series, which will follow the perspectives of several people involved, from within and outside the compound. Two biographies, A Place Called Waco, by David Thibodeau, a Branch Davidian survivor, and Sinful Messiah, written by FBI special agent Noesener, will serve as the basis for the potential series. Waco currently does not have a network.
We’ll have more details about Waco as they become available.
Source: THR
