Prepare to welcome another addition to the true-crime drama TV landscape in 2022, when Andrew Garfield’s Under the Banner of Heaven premieres as a fresh new limited series. Dustin Lance Black, an Oscar winner, is shepherding the series, which is based on Jon Krakauer’s New York Times bestselling book of the same name.
True crime has become one of the popular genres in film, television, and other forms of media. In 2022, the genre includes films such as Inventing Anna, Joe vs Carole, The Tinder Swindler, The Thing About Pam, and The Dropout, to name a few. Under the Banner of Heaven will be joining them soon. They’ll shortly be joined by Under the Banner of Heaven.
Murderers and other true crime fans will be overjoyed! This spring, FX and Hulu will premiere the television miniseries version of Jon Krakauer’s epic true crime novel Under the Banner of Heaven. Krakauer is best known for his book Into the Wild, as well as the feature film adaptation that made Emile Hirsch famous.
Officer Pyre, a Mormon police detective trying to uncover the terrible murder of a mother and her young child, will star Andrew Garfield. Brenda Lafferty, the slain woman, will be played by Daisy Edgar Jones (Normal People). Ron and Dan Lafferty, two brothers who conspired to kill her because of their connections to a devout offshoot sect of Mormonism known as the School of Prophets, will be played by Sam Worthington (Avatar) and Wyatt Russell (US Agent in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier).
The launch of Under the Banner of Heaven is approaching, as the true-crime drama has been set for Thursday, April 28 on Hulu exclusively for US viewers.
Is “Under the Banner of Heaven” based on a true story?
Yes, to answer the question briefly. The show is based on author and journalist Jon Krakauer’s nonfiction true crime book Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith. It debuted in 2003 and has received a lot of great feedback since then.
Krakauer juxtaposes two histories in the book: the Lafferty brothers’ “in the name of God” double murder in 1984 and the violent origins and evolution of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The book looks for parallels and intersections between the LDS church’s origins (and when it was forced to stop its polygamy practices) and the Laffertys’ choice to murder Brenda, their youngest brother’s wife, and her kid.
They despised Brenda and thought she was the reason Ron’s wife had left him (in reality his wife refused to allow him to marry a second wife.) They also claimed to have had “revelations” (direct messages from God) ordering Brenda and her baby’s murder.
“God is greater than the United States, and when the Government conflicts with heaven, we will be arrayed under the banner of heaven against the Government,” said John Taylor (the third president of the LDS Church) in 1880 address defending polygamy. John said, “God is greater than the United States, and when the Government conflicts with heaven, we will be arrayed under the banner of heaven against the Government.” We are not allowed to marry more than one woman in the United States. “God has a different opinion.”