Preview 'Manson: The Women,' Airing August 10 On Oxygen

Oxygen, the destination for high-quality crime programming, debuts “Manson: The Women” on Saturday, August 10 at 7pm ET/PT. To understand exactly how one of the most daunting madmen in history charmed his way into the lives of the women who formed his family, this compelling two-hour special takes a deep dive into their psyche through the lens of the counterculture movement that swept the 1960s. Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, Sandra “Blue” Good, Catherine “Gypsy” Share, and Dianne “Snake” Lake recount their experiences with Manson, life on Spahn Ranch and their leader’s eventual decent into madness. Their candid, in-depth interviews provide a unique perspective on what it meant to be a part of the infamous Manson family and vividly depict the collapse of a freewheeling family whose leader groomed a few of its own to commit murder. 

Nearly 50 years since one of the most notorious killing sprees in America rocked the nation, questions surrounding the illusive Manson Family remain. Perhaps most daunting was the notion that Manson could incite such bloodshed without physically executing his own plan. In an era where free love fueled the proliferation of counterculture communes, most of Manson’s loyal followers were young women from middle-class backgrounds whose own home lives did not bring them solace and, instead, pushed them to find acceptance elsewhere. This, coupled with Manson’s inflammatory us-vs-the world teachings, ignited a sense of belonging within the women and inadvertently paved the way for their leader’s stronghold. Input from former legal analyst and federal prosecutor Lis Wiehl, as well as additional researchers and experts on the family, breaks down the level of control and manipulation – psychological, physical, emotional – that took over the lives of these vibrant young women.

“Manson: The Women” is produced by Glass Entertainment Group with Nancy Glass, J.C. Mills, Jon Hirsch and Eric Neuhaus serving as executive producers, and Pyramid Productions with James Buddy Day serving as executive producer.