Summary
- The Garden, an off-the-grid community in the Ozarks, is the subject of The Discovery Channel’s docuseries, exploring whether it is a commune or cult.
- In an exclusive clip from the upcoming episode, tensions arise as some members question whether Tyler is a good fit.
- Tyler, a veteran, describes The Garden as a post-apocalyptic Wonderland where members are free to do whatever they want, but acknowledges the perception of it being a cult.
The Discovery Channel’s The Garden: Commune or Cult gives viewers an in-depth look at a controversial group. The Garden, founded in 2009, is an unconventional off-the-grid community whose members don’t abide by societal norms. The Garden, now located on 22 acres deep in the Ozarks, maintains an open door policy for potential members, but that doesn’t mean that everyone can stay. Some interested candidates exit on their own, others are forced to leave, and only the remaining few get to stay.
In an exclusive clip shared with MovieWeb ahead of the third episode of the series, tensions arise as some group members question whether Tyler Milligan, undergoing a ten-day initiation period, is actually a good fit. Julia, one of the community’s official members, questions his authenticity and admits he “creeps [her] out a little bit.” On Tyler’s end, he admits he’s unsure what his outcome will be with The Garden, as “people say one thing, and then they do another thing.” Check out the clip below.
Along with Tyler, a veteran and doomsday prepper, this week’s episode introduces viewers to Tisheila, a truck driver survivalist, and Jessica, a former cheerleader looking to reconnect with nature.
The Discovery Channel docuseries, which premiered on October 29, explores whether The Garden is a leaderless commune with like-minded members who collaborate towards a sustainable and off-grid way of life or if the group is a cult run by a controlling council. Founded in 2009, The Garden has run into problems in recent years. Some believe The Garden is a cult, a notion that was previously explored through a 2021 Vice documentary and sparked by viral TikTok videos from one of The Garden’s members.
Related: One Tree Hill’s Bethany Joy Lenz Opens up About Being in a Cult in Upcoming Memoir
Tyler’s Thoughts on The Garden
Discovery Channel
Hot Snakes Media
When viewers are first introduced to Tyler, he describes the group as “post-apocalyptic Wonderland, free of worries, free of paying bills,” and a place where members are “free to do whatever you want.”
In an interview with TV Insider, before the show’s release, the veteran opened up about his experience, telling the publication:
“It’s a very odd, awesome experience. You’re pulled out of your own world and forced to hear everyone else’s perspective. You live in this almost imaginary reality where you don’t have power or the internet and are off your phone and are happy about it. I realized you can have so much less and are okay with it. That’s where true happiness is, not how much stuff you have. It’s about how content can I be with the least amount of things. I found myself happy living in a tent and eating garbage. It really made me think about what I’m doing with my life. I had all my needs met, except having my wife with me. It made me question everything.”
Whether Tyler believes The Garden is a cult or commune remains to be seen, but he shared that he does offer his “diagnosis of the situation” during the filming of the docuseries.
“One tidbit I can give you is I can understand why people think it is a cult. The more you deny something or hide something or don’t want to talk about something, the more guilty you look,” he adds.
The Garden: Commune or Cult airs on Sundays on the Discovery Channel at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The docuseries is produced for Warner Bros. Discovery by Hot Snakes.
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