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Watch The Synanon Fix: Did the Cure Become a Cult? (2024) Online

6.811 votes2024TV-MA1hEndedDocumentaryOfficial site

Synopsis

Explore the rise and fall of the Synanon organization — through the eyes of the members who lived it — from its early days as a groundbreaking drug rehabilitation program to its later descent into what many consider a cult.

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1. Here Come the DopefiendsNow viewing2024-04-011h 1m10.0Recovering alcoholic Chuck Dederich opens a storefront drug rehabilitation program that gains a following through its confrontational talk-therapy approach. As the program attracts non-addicts and celebrity followers, Synanon grows into a social movement that rapidly expands across the country.
2. A War on Convention2024-04-081h 1mBy the 1970s, Synanon boasts its own farm, a school, and multiple businesses, but Chuck’s utopian vision begins to crack. As members face more extreme edicts, including mandates to quit smoking, separate from their children, and shave their heads – many find themselves weighing the benefits and costs of the choices they’re forced to make.
3. What in the Hell is Happening?2024-04-15Chuck’s behavior becomes more belligerent and abusive. He forms a military-like boot camp for delinquent children where corporal punishment abounds. He mandates vasectomies and abortions and, when his wife dies, he quickly remarries and decrees that all current relationships must end so that everyone can find new partners. Many members divorce and remarry, which some of them later regret. TIME Magazine publishes “Swinging at Synanon” and Chuck sues for $76 million as his paranoia grows.
4. Strap Yourself to the Mast2024-04-22In 1977, the Los Angeles Times reports on the nine-day abduction of Frances Winn by Synanon. Lawyer Paul Morantz wins a settlement case in her favor. With media focus heating up, Chuck spends $62,000 on guns and ammunition, at the time the largest single firearms purchase in California history. Soon thereafter, he allegedly orchestrates an attempt on Morantz’s life. He is sentenced to five years probation. Drinking again and diagnosed with mental illness, Chuck loses everything and dies in a nursing home, leaving a troubled legacy as a creative, but unchecked genius. Many adherents are left to piece together their lives in the aftermath without Synanon.

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Is The Synanon Fix: Did the Cure Become a Cult? available to watch online?

Yes - see the "Where to watch legally" section on this page for streaming, rental and purchase options.

How many seasons does The Synanon Fix: Did the Cure Become a Cult? have?

The Synanon Fix: Did the Cure Become a Cult? has 1 season and 4 episodes.

When did The Synanon Fix: Did the Cure Become a Cult? first air?

The Synanon Fix: Did the Cure Become a Cult? first aired in 2024.

Is The Synanon Fix: Did the Cure Become a Cult? still running?

The Synanon Fix: Did the Cure Become a Cult?'s status on TMDB is: Ended.

What genre is The Synanon Fix: Did the Cure Become a Cult??

The Synanon Fix: Did the Cure Become a Cult? is classified as Documentary.