Hulu‘s perfect, bingeable thriller that boasts a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes is only eight episodes long, making it a perfect watch. There are a number of Hulu miniseries that offer a variety of compelling narratives. One such show is The Clearing, a 2023 Australian psychological thriller. Though a few years old, it makes for a perfect, extremely engaging binge-watching experience.
What Is The Clearing About?
The Clearing follows the story of Freya Heywood (Teresa Palmer), who, as a child, was indoctrinated into a cult called The Kindred, an all-female New Age religious group. Now an adult, Freya finds herself thrust back into the world of The Kindred when a young girl in her town goes missing. She decides to face her past to save other children from being kidnapped by the group.
At eight episodes in length, The Clearing is a streaming thriller series that saw plenty of praise upon its release. As of writing, it holds a Certified Fresh 90% by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, signaling plenty of praise for the show. Praise is aimed at its foreboding tone and atmosphere, alongside a mystery that unfurls more with every episode.
How The Clearing Borrows From A Real-Life Story
While The Clearing itself is a fictional story, it borrows elements from a real-life cult as inspiration. The show is based on the book In the Clearing by J. P. Pomare, a fictionalized account of The Family, an Australian cult led by Anne Hamilton-Byrne. Hamilton-Byrne professed herself to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, while professing a mixture of Western and Eastern religious teachings.
The Family would adopt children without going through the proper legal channels, resulting in a raid in August 1987 following allegations of child abuse. Hamilton-Byrne was arrested in 1993, for charges of defrauding and committing perjury, but only wound up getting fined $5,000. She faced other legal trouble throughout her life until her death in June 2019.
The Clearing Is A Perfect Binge For True Crime Fans
While The Clearing isn’t a true crime TV show in the traditional sense, its premise is pulled from real crimes that transpired under The Family. Even though it’s fictionalized, there’s a depth to the real crimes associated with the cult that get recognition in the Hulu show, even if it’s not necessarily one-to-one with what happened in real life.
With Hulu providing such a dark, highly-praised series in The Clearing, it’s one of the more memorable miniseries to have premiered on the platform. It’s made all the stronger because of how it blends reality with fiction, but in a way that emphasizes how these types of crimes happen in real cults.
