The BEST episodes of Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath
Every episode of Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath!
Leah Remini, along with high level former Scientology executives and Church members, explores individual accounts from ex-Church members and their families through meetings and interviews with Leah. Each episode features stories from former members whose lives have been affected by the Church's harmful practices, even well after they left the organization.
#1 - Fair Game
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 12/6/2016
Leah visits the spiritual headquarters of Scientology – Clearwater, Florida – to hear Mike Rinder's personal story. As the head of Scientology’s Office of Special Affairs, Mike Rinder was expected to discredit and destroy critics of the Church. But after leaving the Church, Rinder himself became fair game.
#2 - The Bridge
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/13/2016
Mary Kahn was an everyday parishioner who ascended to the Church of Scientology’s highest levels of spiritual enlightenment. But as she shares with Leah, the price tag of her experience was extreme – eventually including the relationship with her youngest son.
#3 - A Leader Emerges
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 12/20/2016
After the death of Scientology’s founder L Ron Hubbard, David Miscavige emerged as the leader of the Church of Scientology. Leah uncovers the story of Scientology before and after David Miscavige, as told by three former long-time Church members – including Miscavige’s father.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#4 - Golden Era
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/27/2016
As a celebrity member of the Church of Scientology, Leah Remini attended various gala fundraisers for the Church, many of them organized and produced by the Church's production company Golden Era. Now the former Golden Era event producer, Marc Headley, pulls back the curtain to reveal the shocking truth of these events, and how his disillusionment lead to both his and his wife's departure from the Church.
#5 - Auditing
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/3/2017
Aaron Smith-Levin and his twin brother Collin were prodigies at Scientology's spiritual counseling practice known as auditing. But their paths diverged after Collin was dismissed from the program, leading to the painful tragedy Aaron shares with Leah.
#6 - Enemies of the Church
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/10/2017
After Leah receives a letter from the Church accusing her of provoking hate crimes, she decides to meet with the young man who the Church says she incited. Mike asks Leah to sit down with journalists who have been unrelentingly hounded by the Church for their reporting. And Leah tries to find a new way to take action.
#7 - Aftermath of the Aftermath
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/7/2017
Leah and Mike sit down with Leah's childhood friend Chantal Dodson and her mother, Ramina, who decides to leave Scientology after 42 years in the church; previous contributors reveal how their lives have been impacted by appearing on the show.
#8 - Ask Me Anything Season 2
Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 11/21/2017
Leah answers viewers' questions about the series' second season.
#9 - Disconnection
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/29/2016
Actress and Ex-Scientologist Leah Remini begins her journey with a trip to Seattle to visit former Scientology executive Amy Scobee. After hearing Amy’s tragic story of being disconnected from her mother, Leah is determined to reveal the truth of what’s really going on in her former Church.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#10 - The Ranches
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/10/2017
The Mace-Kingsley Ranches were promoted by Scientologists as educational camps for troubled kids, but former students say they were actually hard labor camps for children. Leah and Mike sit down with two former students who talk about the hardships they endured there, from corporal punishment to challenging living conditions, and for the first time, give voice to the generation of kids in Scientology who were sent away to these ranches.
#11 - The Life & Lies of L. Ron Hubbard
Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 11/14/2017
Leah and Mike lead a round-table discussion on the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, whose word in the church is law and, if to be believed, will lead the parishioner to personal salvation and total freedom.
#12 - Waiting for Justice
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 8/26/2019
Filmed for the first time in front of a live studio audience, Leah Remini and Mike Rinder explore stories of how Church of Scientology policies have hindered members from reporting instances of abuse and sexual assault to the authorities. They will speak to a number of ex-Scientologists who share their stories of abuse at the hands of other Scientologists, and describe how these policies are aimed at preventing the alleged crimes from becoming public. The episode will also feature a panel of legal, psychological and law-enforcement experts, who provide insight into the impact Scientology’s practices have had on its former parishioners and advise how they can seek justice and effect change in the future.
#13 - Star Witness
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/27/2018
The heavily guarded Scientology compound known as Gold Base in Riverside County, California, houses up to 1,000 members of the church's elite inner core; Valerie Haney tells how conditions at the base led her to contemplate suicide.
#14 - Ideal Orgs
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/1/2019
Under the leadership of David Miscavige, Scientology has been purchasing large buildings to use as upgraded church locations, celebrated as “Ideal Orgs.” The church claims that the new buildings signal the rapid expansion of Scientology, but former members and critics say otherwise. In this episode, Leah and Mike interview Paul Burkhart, a former Ideal Org architect, and Bert Schippers, a former Scientologist who was a major Ideal Org donor.
#15 - Spies Like Us
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 12/4/2018
Cierra Westerman was recruited out of a Florida private investigator school to spy on critics of the Church of Scientology.
#16 - Unlikely Pairing
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/11/2018
In recent years the head of the Nation of Islam, Minister Louis Farrakhan, publicly embraced Dianetics and the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard and supported their use in NOI Mosques. This formed what many are describing as an unusual bond between The Nation of Islam and The Church of Scientology. In this "Aftermath" special--Leah and Mike have a candid conversation about this strange alliance as they sit down with two special guests--a former and current member of the Nation of Islam--who share their personal feelings about this collaboration. They reveal what they witnessed first-hand since the two controversial organizations came together and in an unexpected twist--Leah reveals the important part she played in introducing the Nation of Islam to the Church of Scientology.
#17 - Where is Shelly?
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 12/18/2018
In 2006, Leah Remini attended the star-studded nuptials of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, an event Scientology dubbed "The Wedding of the Century." After Leah remarked on the absence of church leader David Miscavige's wife, Shelly, the question set off a chain of events that ultimately led to her leaving Scientology. More than a decade later, Shelly still has not been seen in public. In this episode, Leah and Mike interview Shelly's childhood friend Janis Gillham Grady, a fellow Commodore's Messenger serving L. Ron Hubbard, and Tom DeVocht, who worked closely with both David and Shelly Miscavige. Together they attempt to explain the mysterious disappearance of the First Lady of Scientology.
#18 - The Collection Agency
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/8/2019
Over the past two seasons, we've shown how Scientology is a "pay-as-you-go" organization, but what tactics does the church use to get the money? What about those who can't afford to pay? In this "Aftermath" special -- Leah and Mike sit down with former Scientologists who share the different ways they claim they were made to give the church money they couldn't afford. Their stories range from those who are thousands of dollars in debt, to those who were left financially and emotionally bankrupt. We'll also hear from a former member of the church whose job it was to solicit money from parishioners by what she describes as "any means necessary" -- leaving Mike and Leah to question: is this a church or is this a collection agency?
#19 - Gilman Springs Road
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/15/2019
In a remote corner of Riverside County, Calif., lies Scientology's International Base, a compound that houses the church's most dedicated members. In this episode, Leah Remini and Mike Rinder, a former occupant of International Base ("Gold Base"), speak with four other former high-ranking residents who reveal their shocking stories behind the locked gates.
#20 - Buying a Town (1)
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/22/2019
In 1974, operating under an alias, the Church of Scientology moved into Clearwater, Florida, and proceeded to make the city its spiritual headquarters. In 1977, an FBI raid uncovered the Church's secret plans to take over the city. In this episode, Leah and Mike visit Clearwater and speak to some of the city's most prominent Scientology critics.
#21 - Buying a Town (2)
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/29/2019
Leah and Mike travel to Clearwater, Florida, spiritual headquarters for the Church of Scientology. Speaking with some of the city's most prominent Scientology critics, they explore how the controversial 1995 death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson marked a turning point in the Church's history.
#22 - Church and State
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 2/5/2019
Leah and Mike speak with Jay Wexler, an expert in constitutional law, to discuss the remarkable story of Scientology’s journey to tax-exempt status. Mike and Leah also talk with Lt. Yulanda Williams, a police officer, about law enforcement's community engagement strategies.
#24 - Lifetime of Healing
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 10/31/2017
In this very personal episode, Leah sits down with two of her childhood friends, Chantal Dodson and Sherry Ollins, for an emotional conversation about their shared experiences growing up in Scientology. They look back on how their friendship helped them to survive during their most difficult times and how they're now trying to heal with each other's support.
#25 - The Business of Religion
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 10/24/2017
Scientologists are constantly pressured to pay money to the Church based on a promise of spiritual salvation. But what happens when parishioners ask for their money back? Ex-Scientologists Leah Remini and Mike Rinder will lead a roundtable discussion, examining the contracts that all Scientologists must follow, and how these contracts lock them into financial burdens that can lead to hardship and ruin. Mike and Leah will be joined by ex-Sea Org Member Matt Pesch, leading Scientology blogger Jeffrey Augustine, along with ex-Scientologist Luis Garcia, and his attorney, Ted Babbitt, who are embroiled in a major lawsuit with the church regarding refunds.