Anthracite: Is the new Netflix series inspired by a true story?

On Wednesday, April 10, Netflix released Anthracite: The Mystery of the Sect of Cases, a French detective mini-series starring Camille Louis, Noemi Schmidt and Hatik. Created by Fanny Robert and Maxime Berthem, this gripping thriller begins with the collective suicide of a sect based in a small Alpine village that made headlines in 1994.

Thirty years later, a young woman is found murdered according to the rituals of this strange society. Accused of murder, Jaro (Hatik) joins forces with Ida (Noemi Schmidt), an eccentric geek, to prove his innocence. Throughout their investigation, they uncover many secrets they’d rather keep buried…

Is the series adapted from a real story?

If Anthracite: The Secret of the Box Sect seems like a mystery to you, that’s totally fine. Although the series is not strictly based on actual events, the sect and collective suicide that opens the first episode are inspired by the actual event.

In the 1990s, Switzerland, France and Canada were indeed marked by a series of mass suicides orchestrated by the Order of the Sun Temple sect. Followers were convinced that their death would allow them to reach the star Sirius, the haven of peace and eternal existence.

On the night of December 15-16, 1995, sixteen people, including three children aged 2, 4 and 6, were killed at a place called “Le Trou de l’Enfer”, an isolated area on the Vercors plateau, St. -Pierre de Cheren.

This event was especially noted by Fanny Robert, who grew up in the region. “We started with the minor trauma of a teenager, which was the Sun Temple massacre that happened a few kilometers from where I lived.“, the designer explained at the press conference. “There was a huge slowdown in the region and it fired our imaginations.”

A fictional religion

However, the Box Sect religion was created from scratch by the two screenwriters and is largely inspired by Manichaeism, a religion based on the separation of the world between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness.

“However, we did not start from this particular plot at allFani Robert added. “We began researching cults that had experienced such a tragedy. But it was interesting for us to create our own sect and our own religion. We worked a lot on this subject and were particularly inspired by the Manichaean religion, which is based on the principle of good and evil.“

Find Season 1 episodesAnthracite: Boxes Sect Now on Netflix.