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Limited Series – Waco: American Apocalypse

Play trailer 2:16 Poster for Limited Series – Waco: American Apocalypse Mar 2023 Documentary History Crime Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
84% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 63% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
In Waco, Texas, 1993, cult leader David Koresh faces off against the federal government in a 51-day siege that begins with the biggest gunfight on American soil since the Civil War and ends with a fiery inferno captured live on national television.
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Waco: American Apocalypse — Limited Series

Waco: American Apocalypse — Limited Series

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Critics Consensus

While its gestures toward poignancy sometimes fall flat, American Apocalypse is an altogether well-researched documentary that dispels some of the counterproductive folklore surrounding the Waco catastrophe.

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Critics Reviews

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Carol Midgley The Times (UK) 12/13/2023
4/5
Tiller Russell's Waco: American Apocalypse can make a fair claim to being the "definitive" documentary on it. It is a thorough, balanced, immersive and eerily atmospheric examination of a horrific stand-off in which 86 people, including 25 children, died. Go to Full Review
Brian Lowry CNN.com 12/13/2023
Perhaps foremost, Russell’s stark storytelling lets the video and participants speak for themselves, in contrast to much of the florid brand of true crime that has found a home on Netflix. Go to Full Review
Todd Lazarski AV Club 04/13/2023
B+
In many ways, this is the scariest show on television, as it is so clearly anything but a period piece. Go to Full Review
Ed Power Irish Times 12/13/2023
It makes for grippingly granular viewing. Go to Full Review
Polly Conway Common Sense Media 03/31/2023
3/5
Waco: American Apocalypse focuses heavily on the days of the standoff, so if you're looking for a cult origin story, this isn't it. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Megan D @filmfinatic Aug 24 MUST SEE ! This was put together so well and was so very interesting See more Brendan C 05/04/2023 This is like a paint-by-numbers project with beautiful footage but carefully avoiding all the hard questions. This is pretty audacious given the controversy and investigations post-event. Designed for popcorn only. See more dave d 04/18/2023 It's fine as a trip down memory lane, but nothing particularly noteworthy comes from it. See more Dan R 04/10/2023 'Waco: American Apocalypse' is an incredible look at an event entrenched in US history and controversy. SYNOPSIS: 'It showcases what happened in 1993 in Waco, Texas when cult leader David Koresh faced off against the federal government in a siege of 51 days.' This series reveals many things about the Waco incident which have never been made public knowledge before. The never before seen footage of FBI negotiations during the standoff, and previously unreleased news footage offer a sobering look at events. The director explores the facts of the event, many of which the US Government does not want the public to know. In places this exploration is damning in it's verdict against the FBI and rightly so. However, by offering up the opposing views of those involved, without bias, that's where this documentary really succeeds. A really well researched documentary which shouldn't be missed. 8/10 See more weeg M 04/08/2023 I was in my twenties when this went down. The doc had lots of footage I either hadn't seen or had forgotten about. The interviews with the lead fbi negotiator was eye opening , the interviews with the survivors both sad and frightening. An indictment on FBT/ATF leadership. Has anything changed? See more David F 04/07/2023 This is an intense documentary about the FBI/ATF siege on the Branch Davidian compound in 1993 which began with the deaths of numerous agents and ended in the fiery deaths of many of the people in the compound. This documentary leans very heavily on first person accounts relayed by the people who were there 30 years ago, which gives it a you-are-there intensity. Combined with video tape footage of the events from all sides, watching this documentary gives you the feeling that you lived through it. Because it is so tightly focused on the eyewitness accounts, there is a lack of context at times for understanding just why what is happening is happening, but in a lot of ways that just makes this seem even more intense and realistic. It's a documentary that looks back at a story you thought you knew which makes you see it in an entirely new light. See more Read all reviews
Waco: American Apocalypse — Limited Series

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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Mar 22, 2023 In the Beginning… Gunfire erupts when federal agents arrive at the Branch Davidian compound with a search warrant and hostage negotiators attempt to free the children. Details Episode 2 Aired Mar 22, 2023 Children of God Curiosity over the man calling himself a messiah makes Waco the center of a media circus. FBI negotiation and rescue teams clash over the use of force. Details Episode 3 Aired Mar 22, 2023 Fire The world waits as Koresh makes new promises of surrender. But the FBI's controversial tactics turn the compound into an apocalyptic scene. Details
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Season Info

Director
Tiller Russell
Executive Producer
Tiller Russell, Greg Tillman, Jeff Hasler, Brian Lovett, William Green, Aaron Ginsburg, Edwin Zane, Dane C. Reiley
Network
Netflix
Rating
TV-MA
Genre
Documentary, History, Crime
Original Language
English
Release Date
Mar 22, 2023
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