Welcome to The Sunshine Place

July 26, 2022 - 04:07
Once called “the miracle on the beach,” Synanon began in the 1960s as an experimental rehab facility in Santa Monica, California with a...

E1: The Kidsnatchers

August 10, 2022 - 45:04
Welcome to Synanon. If you're wondering what Synanon is, then you're asking the same question as Celena and Mike, whose lives change...

E2: The Miracle on the Beach

August 10, 2022 - 42:58
Chuck Dederich hits rock bottom as an alcoholic in the beachside slums of Los Angeles. It's 1958, and he's got nothing but an idea, but...

E3: The Trip

August 17, 2022 - 46:16
Legend, ritual, religion, LSD. Chuck experiments with all of it on his followers in Synanon.

E4: The Punk Squad

August 24, 2022 - 45:30
Chuck breaks one of his two rules for Synanon, no violence, beginning with his youngest followers.

E5: The Breeders

August 31, 2022 - 46:18
Chuck declares that there will be no more children born in Synanon, and he goes to great lengths to make sure of it.

E6: Changing Partners

September 7, 2022 - 53:10
After Chuck's wife Betty passes away, he quickly finds a new partner, and he instructs his followers to find new ones too, whether they...

E7: The Holy War

September 14, 2022 - 49:17
Chuck is consumed by paranoia and Synanon erupts in violence.

E8: The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

September 21, 2022 - 1:08:35
Chuck Dederich's story reaches its conclusion. Whether or not Synanon does is up for debate.

SERIES SUMMARY

Once called “the miracle on the beach,” Synanon began in the 1960s as an experimental rehab facility in Santa Monica, California with a radical claim: It could cure heroin addiction. Before long, it would make an even bolder claim: It could cure any of your problems. All you had to do was move in. What started in a house on the beach, soon spread to compounds across the country. The man who made the miracle happen, Charles E. Dederich, aka “Chuck,” would be the one to destroy it all, along with the lives of many of his followers and millions of dollars in assets. The Sunshine Place tells the mind-blowing, true-story of Synanon - one of America’s most cutting edge social experiments, turned into one of its most dangerous and violent cults - as it’s never been told before: by the people who lived it. Executive Produced by Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Emily Barclay Ford for Team Downey and C13Originals, together with Josh McLaughlin for Wink Pictures and written, produced, and directed by Peabody-nominated C13Originals, a Cadence13 Studio.

Sari Crawford - Host

NARRATOR: Sari Crawford

The Sunshine Place is narrated by Sari Crawford, whose father Bill Crawford was a former leader in the group who came to Synanon as an addict in 1959, was one of the first 12 people to move in, and then was put on a hit list once he managed to get out. Sari’s mother was part of Synanon as well. Sari was born after her parents got out, but was raised in a community with many former members.

extras

Transcript S1 Ep1

view

Transcript S1 Ep2

view

Transcript S1 Ep3

view

Transcript S1 Ep4

view

Transcript S1 Ep5

view

Transcript S1 Ep6

view

Transcript S1 Ep7

view

extras

Transcript S1 Ep1

view

Transcript S1 Ep2

view

Transcript S1 Ep3

view

Transcript S1 Ep4

view

Transcript S1 Ep5

view

Transcript S1 Ep6

view

Transcript S1 Ep7

view

extras

Transcript S1 Ep1

view

Transcript S1 Ep2

view

Transcript S1 Ep3

view

Transcript S1 Ep4

view

Transcript S1 Ep5

view

Transcript S1 Ep6

view

Transcript S1 Ep7

view

extras

Transcript S1 Ep1

view

Transcript S1 Ep2

view

Transcript S1 Ep3

view

Transcript S1 Ep4

view

Transcript S1 Ep5

view

Transcript S1 Ep6

view

Transcript S1 Ep7

view

FOLLOW @C13Originals

About C13Originals

C13Originals

C13Originals is the division of Cadence13 focused on original storytelling and developing a slate of IP through a new premium level in-house production studio, and creators of top podcast series Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia and the white-collar crime docuseries Gangster Capitalism.

Credits

Executive Producers - Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Emily Barclay Ford for Team Downey, Chris Corcoran and Zak Levitt of Cadence13, and Josh McLaughlin.

Writer and Directer - Perry Crowell of C13Originals

Editors - Alistair Shurman and Perry Crowell

Production and Editing Assistance - Chris Basil and Ian Mandt

Mix and Mastered - Bill Schultz

Narrator - Sari Crawford

Marketing, PR, Production Coordination, Sales and Operations - Moira Curran, Josefina Francis, Curt Courtenay, Hillary Schupf, Lauren Viera, Lucas Sandtroen, Sean Cherry, Lizzy Roberti and Danny Kutrick of Cadence13

Original music by Joel Goodman

About C13Originals

C13Originals

C13Originals is the division of Cadence13 focused on original storytelling and developing a slate of IP through a new premium level in-house production studio, and creators of top podcast series Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia and the white-collar crime docuseries Gangster Capitalism.

Credits

Executive Producers - Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Emily Barclay Ford for Team Downey, Chris Corcoran and Zak Levitt of Cadence13, and Josh McLaughlin.

Writer and Directer - Perry Crowell of C13Originals

Editors - Alistair Shurman and Perry Crowell

Production and Editing Assistance - Chris Basil and Ian Mandt

Mix and Mastered - Bill Schultz

Narrator - Sari Crawford

Marketing, PR, Production Coordination, Sales and Operations - Moira Curran, Josefina Francis, Curt Courtenay, Hillary Schupf, Lauren Viera, Lucas Sandtroen, Sean Cherry, Lizzy Roberti and Danny Kutrick of Cadence13

Original music by Joel Goodman