Netflix New True Crime Show Leaves Fans Speechless For All the Wrong Reasons

Summary:

• Netflix recently released its new true crime documentary mini-series, The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping.
• The series follows an investigation into the Academy at Ivy Ridge, a boarding school for troubled youth that abused its students.
• Most fans found The Program deeply disturbing and were frustrated with the kids’ parents who entrusted their children to complete strangers.

There are many reasons people watch true crime documentaries, but most use them as a way to tickle their nerves and enforce anxiety upon themselves when they leave their houses. Few of us tune into a new docuseries just to feel immediately infuriated by others’ ignorance, though; and yet, that’s exactly what Netflix’s new project does.

Welcome to The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping. Leave your best expectations of humankind at the door; you won’t be needing those today.

The Program Follows Disturbing Boarding School

The Academy at Ivy Ridge presents itself as a boarding school for troubled youth that helps them change their ways. It’s supposed to aid problematic students with their problems in their primary schools and help them overcome their personal issues. For many parents, such promises are enough to drop their kids off there.

In reality, the Academy’s approach to its students is much simpler and worse than advertised: physical and emotional abuse and traumatic experiences for everyone. Netflix’s The Program follows a woman that had the misfortune to reside at the Academy and her former classmates as they navigate their trauma and investigate the truth about the Academy.

The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping immediately gathered a strong response from the audience as viewers were mortified to learn about the Academy’s reality.

Netflix Fans Infuriated by The Program’s Revelations

Physical and emotional abuse is always terrible and never justified, especially when it comes to defenseless children and teenagers. The Program’s audience was horrified upon watching the mini-series, and they let their frustration show. Those who have been through similar experiences are especially upset by its revelations.

“This show is freaking me the f*ck out. I can't help but think of my own experiences growing up in a Pentecostal religious church/school, (they were proud of that). My experiences weren't nearly as bad as these young people’s, but the weirdness was similar,” X (formerly Twitter) user ThomJefferBible shared.

Many users are frustrated and confused with the kids’ parents who sent their children off to an unknown place with no communication with the outside world, entrusted them to complete strangers and… Simply carried on with their lives, completely uninterested in their poor kids’ misadventures at the Academy.

The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping is hard to watch, but it’s a must-watch nonetheless. Who knows, maybe this knowledge will save someone one day.