Netflix's 'Trust Me: The False Prophet' Tops Viewership Charts with Perfect Critic Score

Netflix's four-part documentary series Trust Me: The False Prophet has topped the platform's viewership charts for most of the month and remains in the top 10 list, Forbes reported. The series, released on Netflix, holds a 100% score from critics and a 97% score from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. 5 hours.

The synopsis describes how a cult expert and her videographer husband embed themselves in a vulnerable FLDS community in Utah, discovering disturbing evidence about Samuel Bateman, who claims to be the successor to imprisoned prophet Warren Jeffs. Forbes reported that the documentary, directed by Rachel Dretzin, is based on cult expert Christine Marie and her husband Tolga Katas, who recorded evidence against Bateman under the guise of making a film to evangelize his message.

This evidence contributed to the case against him.

Samuel Bateman was arrested in 2022 and sentenced to 50 years in prison in 2024. He claimed that Warren Jeffs had died and assembled a followership that included 20 spiritual wives, at least 10 of whom were children at the time. The FLDS community featured is located in Utah.

Warren Jeffs was arrested and convicted in 2007, but that conviction was overturned in 2010. He was later convicted in Texas for sexual assault of a minor and sentenced to life in prison. Forbes noted that Trust Me: The False Prophet is the fourth major documentary on the FLDS, following others like Sons of Perdition in 2010, Warren Jeffs: Prophet of Evil in 2018, and Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey.

The series stayed on top of Netflix’s top 10 list for a long while, holding off even big new releases. Forbes reported it as a thrilling tale with high review scores, putting it among the highest-rated documentaries on the service. Given its focus on undercover infiltrations, it differs from prior FLDS coverage.