Netflix's True Crime Drama 'Waco' Takes Some Liberties With The Legendary Cult Standoff
Waco is a true crime drama from 2018 that recently came to Netflix.
The show is about David Koresh, who lead the Branch Davidians and had a 51-day armed standoff with federal agents in Waco, Texas.
There are some key differences between the television show and the true story.
Netflix has completely owned the true crime drama game lately, thanks to monster hits like Mindhunter and Unbelievable. Now, there’s a new television show that’s about to rope you in. It’s called Waco, and it’s based on the events that led up to the 51-day standoff in 1993 between the Branch Davidians cult and federal law enforcement agents in Waco, Texas.
Waco isn’t totally brand new—it originally aired on Paramount Network in 2018—but it’s definitely getting a new life (and a whole crop of new fans), thanks to Netflix.
ICYMI the first time around, the show features Taylor Kitsch as Branch Davidian leader David Koresh, and it borrows heavily from what happened IRL. But given that this all went down in the early 90's, you might be a little fuzzy on what exactly Waco is all about.
Here’s everything you need to know about the show, plus how it stacks up against the true story of the Branch Davidians and the Waco raid.
What is Waco on Netflix about?
The description of the show on IMDb is short, sweet, and to the point: "The FBI and ATF seize religious leader David Koresh’s Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, in the spring of 1993." Okaaay.
But the trailer offers up a little more insight. In it, Taylor’s Koresh gives a haunting speech where he says, "You look to me to be your leader, to guide you on this journey. But I’m no leader. I’m a follower, just like you. God has instructed me to stay here and wait for his sign. This is our time to prove through suffering that we are worthy of the miracle that’s to come."
From there, things get hella dramatic, including stand-offs, people raising guns to each other, fires, and sermons.
What happened in Waco in real life?
A lot. For starters, Waco was where the Branch Davidians had a religious compound, according to the Encyclopedia Brittanica.
The group was founded by Ben Roden in 1959 as an offshoot of the Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Encyclopedia Brittanica explains. The Branch Davidians lived a simple life and prepared for what they thought was the imminent return of Jesus.
Eventually, Koresh claimed to be the real messiah, and, after a power struggle, he took control of the group. He started taking "spiritual wives," including some who were children and that, along with the group’s retail gun business and Koresh's habit of stockpiling weapons, caught the attention of the authorities.
Fast forward to February 1993, when law enforcement tried to arrest Koresh and raid the compound, and failed. The group of about 130 Branch Davidians exchanged gunfire with authorities and, by the end, four agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and six Branch Davidians died, per Time.
That then turned into a standoff that lasted for 51 days. During that time, the Branch Davidians refused to leave, despite being surrounded by tanks and armored vehicles. Finally, a tear gas attack by the FBI caused a fire to consume the compound in April 1993, ending the standoff, Time reported. Only nine Branch Davidians survived. Koresh and several children were also killed in the fire.
What are the big differences between the show, Waco, and the true story?
For starters, no one knows about what happened during the day-to-day inside the compound, so a lot of that is made up out of necessity. Ditto for the dialogue. There are also some characters that were created for ~dramatic~ effect.
But, if you want to get an overall sense of the story of what went down in Waco, this is definitely a show to check out.
Waco is currently streaming on Netflix.
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