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The Vow

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Just when I think I’m out, The Vow has pulled me back in. After 2020’s two competing docuseries about NXIVM, HBO has dropped its first teaser and release date for The Vow Part II. And somehow it’s found an angle that a combined 13 hours on HBO and Starz hasn’t covered.

In 2020, HBO’s The Vow took viewers by storm, luring them into the world of NVIXM before slowly exposing it for the cult that it was. While The Vow focused more on the logistics and scandalous stories of this organization, Starz‘s Seduced: Inside the NXVIM Cult took a more intimate approach, focusing on India Oxenberg’s survival story. As intense as these shows were as well as the specials from Investigation Discovery, CNBC, A&E, E!, NBC, and the BBC, there was one thing that they all glossed over: Keith Raniere’s trial. That’s what The Vow Part II will cover.

The upcoming six-part followup will premiere on Monday, October 17. “Set against the backdrop of the federal trial of The United States against Keith Raniere, The Vow Part Two offers an exclusive view into Raniere’s innermost circle, including NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman,” a press release from HBO reads. “It follows the legal and emotional journeys of the group’s founders, supporters, and defectors as new evidence and stunning revelations come to light, while federal prosecutors and defense attorneys battle with opposing views of justice in a case caught in the national spotlight.”

Though The Vow did explore Raniere’s trial a bit, it was released too early to include the full chaos. Raniere was arrested in Mexico in March of 2018 and placed in custody in Brooklyn at Metropolitan Detention Center. In June of 2019, Raniere’s trial concluded, and the jury found him guilty of several crimes, including sexual exploitation of a child, possessing child pornography, sex trafficking, and trafficking of labor among other charges.

That should have been the end of this legal saga, but then COVID-19 happened. Due to the pandemic, Raniere’s sentencing was delayed until over a year later. That was enough time for Raniere to start a podcast and organize several demonstrations from his followers. Eventually, he was sentenced to 120 years in prison and fined $1.75 million. By the way, that fine doesn’t include the separate $3.46 million restitution that went to Raniere’s victims.

Do Raniere’s sentencing and the lawsuit he filed really need six whole hours? Probably not. But at nine hours, The Vow was a prime example of severe docuseries bloat. Its sequel following in its footsteps only feels right. Check out the trailer above and prepare to be morally outraged.