HBO Drama Inspired by Real Polygamist Raid

Jan. 18, 2009 — -- After the raid of a Texas polygamist sect last April, the creators of HBO's hit series "Big Love," which chronicles the lives of a fictional polygamist family, went straight to work – adapting and rewriting to make the show's third season as realistic as possible for viewers who have been captivated by a subculture previously shrouded in mystery.

"We began to write the season in advance of the raid in Texas," said Mark Olsen, the co-creator of the series. Olsen said that the raid occurred during last year's writers' strike, and so when the staff returned they got right to work.

"We had to make the series relevant," said Olsen. "We couldn't have this season fail to acknowledge the events that had transpired in these characters' lives."

"It would be like 'Sex and the City' not acknowledging that the Twin Towers were not there anymore," he said.

The Yearning for Zion Ranch, a compound run by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was raided in April 2008 after state authorities received calls reportedly from juveniles claiming sexual abuse. Texas Child Protective services then removed hundreds of children from the care of their parents while they investigated claims that the sect forced underage girls to marry older men and bred young men to become sexual abusers.

The more than 430 children were returned to their parents in June, a month after first being separated from their families. The investigation is ongoing.

But Olsen and show co-creator Will Sheffer said that the Texas raid was actually a double-edged sword in terms of the show.

While it made their show more culturally relevant it also associated the series with one of the most "unsavory" news stories of the year.

"When we get this publicity in the real world we really don't know whether it's a boom or a bust," said Scheffer.