HBO Max and The Way Down team are making a docuseries on a "cult-like" management company representing social media stars

Deadline

A March Rolling Stone story on 7M Films is being adapted as a docuseries focusing on accusations that the management company that represents social media stars and TikTok dancers is "cult-like." The Way Down: God, Greed and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin producers Ross Dinerstein and Chrissy Teigen are behind the 7M Films docuseries. "At the center of the story are Miranda Derrick (née Wilking) and her new husband James Derrick. Miranda was one part of a TikTok dance crew with her sister Melanie that had millions of followers and was popular for their pandemic dances," according to Deadline. "However, in early 2021, she stopped this and started posting more high-quality videos with James Derrick, who featured on NBC’s World of Dance, that were produced by 7M Films. The company has been accused of isolating clients from their friends and family with Melanie Wilking saying that Miranda had begun attending a church that would not allow her to contact her family. Miranda and James have issued public statements denying they are part of a cult."