Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult is a new Netflix documentary exploring a sinister, manipulative — and bang up to date — church, that attracts new members via social media.
The documentary begins with the story of the Wilking sisters — social media stars who were ripped apart when Miranda became a member of the Shekinah church and cut off her sister Melanie and their parents.
Dancing for the Devil tells the story of Miranda and Melanie, as well as featuring interviews with other former members of the cult.
Is Dancing for the Devil a true story?
The documentary is based on real life. In fact, followers of Miranda and Melanie's social media may have seen their experiences play out in real time.
Miranda has posted a response to the documentary on her Instagram channel @itsmirandaderrick.
What happened to Miranda?
Miranda and Melanie moved to Los Angeles from Detroit, in the hope of making it as dancers. They became active on social media, and realized that was a way to make money. But it would become a more sinister presence in their lives.
What was the 7M management company?
Run by Robert Shinn, 7M was a talent management company that recruited dancers with large social media followings.
They offered struggling artists the chance to create content, make a name for themselves in media, and boost their profiles.
And alongside that, Robert offered the young men and women a place to live, and ideas for content — and he also allegedly encouraged them to join his church, Shekinah.
In exchange, Robert managed the dancers' brands and their lucrative deals.
Who else features in the documentary?
Episode one features dancers who worked alongside Miranda — Kevin 'Konkrete' Davis, Kailea Gray, Aubrey Fisher and Kylie Douglas.
They were all dancers who were drawn into the church and who speak honestly about how they became part of 7M.
And later episodes feature people who knew Robert before 7M was created — when he was running other money-making schemes.
Why did Miranda cut off her family?
Things started to go wrong for the Wilkings when Miranda told them she couldn't fly home for her grandfather's funeral — just half an hour before she was due to board the flight.
Her family were already worried about how much influence the church had in her life — she'd got married to James "BDash" Derrick without telling her parents — and sister Melanie had barely seen her.
But that was just the start. Miranda became increasingly distant and eventually her family acted — they livestreamed a video saying that they feared she was part of a cult.
What happened next?
Miranda decided to livestream her own video — inviting her parents to meet and then streaming the reunion.
The other former church members explain in the documentary that part of the teachings of the church is to allegedly encourage followers to "die to themselves". That means "dying" to their parents, siblings — even in one case to their own child — and cutting them off, in order to "save them".
Are there more victims?
Miranda's parents Kelly and Dean feature heavily in the series, showing them reaching out to other parents in the same position, as well as former members of the church.
What happens in episodes two and three of Dancing for the Devil?
As the documentary progresses, the story of the church and the experiences of its followers takes an even darker turn. Former followers and family members join forces to take action against Robert and his associates as they strive to move forward and leave the past behind.
How to watch Dancing for the Devil
Dancing for the Devil is available to watch worldwide on Netflix.
How many episodes of Dancing for the Devil are there?
The documentary has three episodes, each an hour long.
