Baby Reindeer‘s Netflix reign continued unabated until the release of the third season of Bridgerton (which somehow currently occupies three slots on Netflix’s most current weekly Top 10 Series list). Sandwiched in between these juggernauts, however, is a new docuseries called Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal, which is exactly what it sounds like.
The series surfaces almost nine years after the cheating website was hacked by the Impact Team, an anonymous group who was never unmasked, although the docuseries kind-of suggests that maybe this was an inside job. That was sheer speculation, but in 2015, the hackers released the email addresses and personal details about millions of Ashley Madison users. This led to an untold number of divorces, but guess who did not divorce?
That would be the series’ most showcased married couple, Sam and Nia Rader, a pair of Christian vloggers who went viral due to singing Frozen tunes in the car and streaming a “surprise” pregnancy test carried out when someone forgot to flush the toilet. (Yes, really.)
In the series, Sam was shown (in the above ^^^ still) admitting that he repeatedly lied, including to his own audience, about the extent to which he cheated on Nia. Amazingly, Nia decided to stick around, and they are still married and still have around 2.5 million YouTube subscribers.
Why did Sam and Nia decide to participate after already experiencing so much public humiliation? Netflix usually does not pay its documentary subjects due to ethical-filmmaking considerations (an exception was made for Bad Vegan subject Sarma Melngailis to receive money in order to pay back her jilted employees), so the Raders were not directly being paid to spill their souls for docuseries. Otherwise, what gives?
Well, their official reason as stated in a Daily Mail interview is that Sam wanted to “help other” people by publicly atoning for his marital sins:
“God has been preparing me for this moment. I have been surrounded by brothers and Christ to open up about these things and I owe it to them to strengthen me and be open about my betrayals. I see time and time again so many men in the same place I was and if I can help other marriages, I will do whatever it takes.”
Given that Sam showed himself to be a talented and prolific liar during his early response to the hack — and this is detailed in the docuseries — it would be naive to accept that he appeared onscreen be charitable. Earlier this month, however, Sam and Nia also coincidentally released a book called Sam and Nia | Live in Truth: Public Scandal | Secret Vows | Restored Hearts. So, there’s that possible reason: book publicity.
The first season of Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal is currently streaming. Netflix hasn’t announced a renewal yet, but it’s worth noting that Netflix hasn’t listed it as a limited series, as with Baby Reindeer on the same list.
(Via Daily Mail)