In the style of a handbook, How to Be A Cult Leader chronicles the manipulative tactics of infamous cult leaders, from their upbringing and early interests to the failures that honed their charismatic pull. Each episode profiles a leader (Charles Manson and Jim Jones for the first two episodes) with ex-followers and specialists that break down how the cults were sustained and eventually toppled tremendously. The overall tone is unsettling at first, and as the lies and crimes of these leaders are exposed, the lessons of the handbook mostly manage to be warnings. News (and stock) footage, meme-esque inserts, and animated renditions of events round out Peter Dinklage's narration and keep this unorthodox docuseries dynamic — but to what end? 

There's something uncanny about the tone of the docuseries, which takes on a handbook format and second-perspective narration. Yes, it can be chalked up to a satirical/sarcastic take, but framing these cults and cult leaders as legendary and charismatic, all under the guise of a "guidebook," is still eerie and somewhat jarring. However way you read it, that choice entrances in the same manner the leaders they profile do. It's inarguably divisive but also makes it a compulsive watch.