After his near-death illness at the end of last year, Charles Manson is bouncing back with the announcement that he will be the subject of a new reality TV show. Well, sort of. Sins of the Father, announced at the MIPTV industry show in Cannes yesterday, follows Manson’s grandson Jason Freeman as he struggles with his family legacy. And Freeman has a lot to struggle with – his 82 year old Gramps is America’s most notorious convict, and his father, Charles Manson Jr, killed himself in 1993. I suppose that name was a lot to carry around. People were bound to raise their eyebrows. Freeman remains in contact with Manson – “no matter what he is, he is family” he says in a preview clip as he phones his grandfather in prison.
Another clip has Williams pondering “am I doomed for life? Is there bad blood in me?”. Did we mention that he is a cage fighter? Some might argue that a career that involves battering other people is not an ideal one for someone wondering if they have ‘bad blood’, but perhaps it is a controlled release for any aggressive feeling that might come up due to the rather bad hand that life has dealt him.
Charlie himself, of course, is unlikely to play much of a part in the show, which producers GIL Formats are currently pitching as part of a series about the families of notorious killers. Other episodes are yet to be confirmed.
