A&E Renews Leah Remini’s Scientology Series

Leah Remini’s documentary-style series on Scientology has been renewed by A&E for another season.

The network saw some much-needed viewer growth when it returned to its roots producing non-fiction docuseries content. Remini’s show spearheaded that, providing an in-depth look at a phenomenon many Americans can’t believe is taking place in their own home.

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath goes deeper than any other single documentary has been able to do. It won an Emmy for its expose of the controversial religion, and it will only go further now that it can go on for a third season.

Remini’s show had actionable effects as well, contributing to the exposure of many sexual assaults covered up by the church. She spoke out against Danny Masterson when several women accused the church of helping the actor cover up his crime, ultimately leading to his firing from Netflix’s The Ranch.

Remini’s show will soon be joined by four new non-fiction programs on A&E, according to a report by Deadline. The network believes it has found the right formula for its success.

“We doubled down on what we do best,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, A&E’s EVP and head of programming, on the network’s renewed focus on unscripted content. “Our bread and butter has always been high-quality nonfiction that has this kind of emotionally intelligent, boundary-pushing, trailblazing storytelling. We believe that we have always been in this place that speaks to the cultural zeitgeist.”

Remini’s docuseries may take a different direction in its third season, however. Rumors have circulated that the actress is taking on other cults and cult-like religions this time around, not just focusing on Scientology.

A source told Us Weekly in December that the show will have an episode focusing on Jehovah’s Witnesses, and one dissecting Nxivm, a controversial self-empowerment group. Remini shared a similar sentiment in a September interview with Entertainment Weekly.

“I’m open to doing a season 3 in a different way,” she said. We’ve been getting an overwhelming amount of emails and people contacting us through [social media] about other cults that are similar [to Scientology], so I’m looking into that.”