Sequel to Netflix Wild, Wild Country

Netflix’s ‘Wild Wild Country’ directors say they are ‘definitely’ open to a sequel

  • The directors of Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” said they are “definitely” open to doing a follow-up.
  • The 6-part docuseries looks at the rise and fall of Rajneeshpuram, a city built in rural Oregon in the 1980s by followers of an Indian guru.
  • Directors Chapman and Maclain Way talked to Business Insider about what they had to leave out of the series because they couldn’t find a place for it.

This below from the Business Insider article.

The directors of Netflix’s hit docuseries “Wild Wild Country” are “definitely” interested in a potential follow-up.

The series looks at the “actually insane” (their words) story of Rajneeshpuram, a utopian city the followers of an Indian guru built in rural Oregon in the 1980s. It includes free love, machine guns, Rolls Royces, and bioterrorism. But it’s not all about the headline-grabbing details. The series works so well because it’s both a wild ride and a nuanced portrait of a struggle between the cult and the local townspeople – complete with compelling interviews with the major players on both sides.

The series has gotten great word-of-mouth buzz since it debuted earlier this month, and fans are clamoring for a follow-up. They might be in luck.

“We are definitely open to a follow-up,” co-director Chapman Way told us about a potential “Wild Wild Country” sequel. “I don’t know whether we’d do a whole other season two, but maybe a one-off episode.” Chapman Way said that because of the popularity of the series – that they weren’t quite expecting – they have gotten a wide range of emails of people giving them new information and updates on the story of Rajneeshpuram.

Way also said he and his brother (co-director Maclain Way) were in the process of developing two other documentary series they didn’t want to discuss in detail quite yet.

As to what form a “Wild Wild Country” follow-up would take, the Way brothers were not specific. But they did mention one particular element they left on the cutting-room floor for the 6-part original series: a “day in the life” section.

Here’s how Maclain Way described it:

“We asked our interviewees to walk us through a day in the life in Rajneeshpuram and they gave us some amazing material, almost in the mundaneness of it. But really beautiful answers about how they would wake up, and sometimes they would sleep in, or get a little tea. And after breakfast they would go get some work done in their department, and then they’d come back for lunch. Some people worked as mechanics in Rajneesh Buddhafield garage, some people worked in PR and they would go to their office, some people worked in the legal department, some people worked the farms. [It was] just really interesting to hear them slow-walk you through an average, typical day. It was just something we couldn’t find a spot for. But maybe as a DVD extra or something we’ll be able to get it up there.”

 

If “Wild Wild Country” does get a sequel, it will no doubt appear on Netflix. The Ways said they loved their experience working with the streaming giant, who also distributed their previous documentary “The Battered Bastards of Baseball” (2014), after buying it at Sundance.

And the Ways hope others will dig into the Rajneesh story as well.

“We feel no ownership over the story of Rajneeshpuram,” Maclain Way said. “It belongs to the public and there is a ton of footage out there, and archives, and even stories and angles that were not included in ‘Wild Wild Country’ that I would be the first person to buy a book about, or watch another documentary or podcast [about].”

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5 Responses to Sequel to Netflix Wild, Wild Country

  1. Parmartha says:

    Looks like Frank was not too far off the mark with his April Fool.

    The series is very much lacking in recording the experience of the ordinary commune member on the Ranch, and gives a half picture of Sheela and Shanti Bhadra, which definitely should be corrected or developed.

    It also fails to interview people like Amrito, or if they did, fails to explain why they chose not to use that footage.

    Most of all, Osho himself, and his connection at a subliminal level with all those who lived on the Ranch. Not for the politics, which many, some say over 95%, never even knew much about, but which this series concentrates on almost entirely.

    • frank says:

      Fast forward to BBC 1, 9am, April 4th, 2020.

      “Welcome to the ‘Today’ programme.
      In today`s show we will be talking to cult internet sensation Parmartha, known as “The Guv`ner” by his hard-core followers, about his outrageous journey from obscurity to A-list celebrity, and why the Osho movement, according to Reuters, is the fastest-growing religion in the world.

      We will be asking, what was it like to live in a buddhafield and how did he feel on the day that he initiated Lady Gaga into the cult at the Hollywood Bowl in an event that was relayed to 4 billion viewers worldwide, which led President Trump to admit “Orange is the new black.”

      And later on we will be delving into his stormy relationship with Kim Kardashian and hopefully coming coming clean about what really happened in THAT video with Kim`s daughter Khloe.

      And of course he will be discussing his plans to create an “Ultimate Reality” show that excited commentators have dubbed “Big Brother in a padded go-down with no-holds-barred naked encounter orgy free-for-all-therapy” that is threatening to be the next big thing that takes the screen by storm.

      Stay tuned and don`t miss any of the action….”

  2. anandrahul says:

    With due regards to all neo-sannyasins, does staying tuned to and not missing any of the action qualify the new entrants in the scene of having a subliminal level of connection with the story, screenplay, director? After all – life is like a play. Aha hah.

  3. Quazatzhadrach says:

    Just finished watching ‘Wild Wild Country’. I was an early teen in Portland in the early 80s and only heard the news propaganda regarding Rajneeshpuram. I think this film was riveting, but it’s clearly biased towards making Osho and the commune appear negative.

    There is no real explanation of his teachings (as if they don’t want people to know why so many were drawn to him) and clearly there was a larger conspiracy to get rid of him at whatever cost.

    My gut instinct tells me perhaps the Hollywood group were government spooks, who either drugged him or were poisoning him; clearly they were able to take over control and influence over an older foreigner who depended on Americans to help keep the commune going.

    There are many parallels to the documentary ‘Marley’ about the musician Bob Marley: many people believe he was assassinated for his influence, and also the similar rate it was growing worldwide.

    Why weren’t the CIA and FBI files on Osho examined for this film? Are they classified or declassified?

    The way I see it, there were many mistakes made at Rajneeshpuram and they need to be acknowledged, and the movement needs to continue on, perhaps in a decentralised (like Bitcoin) fashion so there is no ‘leader’ to exterminate.

  4. swamishanti says:

    “My gut instinct tells me perhaps the Hollywood group were government spooks, who either drugged him or were poisoning him; clearly they were able to take over control and influence over an older foreigner who depended on Americans to help keep the commune going.”

    I really don`t know about that, Quazatzhadrach, but it is clear that the one who was into the drugging and poisoning thing was not the wealthy Americans, it was that little north Indian nutcase Sheela, who, in a typical Indian fashion, was useless with material endeavours. This time it wasn`t just those poorly made cassettes that broke after a few uses, electrical equipment that popped and caught fire, or badly maintained buildings that are falling apart and haven`t been cleaned properly for decades.

    It wasn`t the gormless Indians carrying a spade and taking years to dig a simple hole. Nor even the staff at the Bank of India that are meant to be open at 9am but sit around gossiping for two hours before they get going.

    No, it was just several useless attempts to murder people by Sheela and her cronies, which included the plot of shooting Vivek and Amrito in the face when they were driving out of the Ranch.

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