Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation (Lifetime Saturday February 4 2023)

Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation airs a new episode tonight Saturday February 4 2023 on Lifetime.

In the new Lifetime original movie Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation, Jennifer Grey plays the controversial religious leader and Christian diet guru who presented herself as God’s prophet and preached the merits of being thin. 

Gwen Shamblin Lara was one of the few women to run a Southern megachurch when she established the Remnant Fellowship Church in Tennessee and the Weigh Down Workshop, a hugely successful Christian-based diet program that promoted the value of a trim waist and the efficacy of prayer for weight loss. Her leadership became increasingly ruthless as her church expanded across the country, and she amassed a fortune and a cult-like following by aggressively styling her hair into a towering mop.

Gwen, in the height of her authority, insisted that her followers cut off all contact with non-believers, expelled those who gained weight, threatened legal action against those who disagreed with her, and pushed for harsh punishments for those who disobeyed church doctrine. 

But in May 2021, tragedy struck, and Gwen’s reign came to an abrupt end when the plane her husband Joe was piloting crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all aboard, including Gwen, Joe, their son-in-law, and four other Church leaders.

With Jennifer Grey (Gwen Shamblin), Brittany Drisdelle (Adrienne), Jorja Cadence (Elizabeth Shamblin Hannah), Karen Cliche (Natasha), Vincent Walsh (Joe Lara), Connor McMahon (Brandon Hannah), Michael Hearn (Gwen’s Lawyer), Frank Fiola (TV Executive), Evelyne Morissette (Client), Willow Astbury (Young Elizabeth), Adam LeBlanc (Josh Kitt), Karine Dion (Tammy), Dylan Colton (Michael Shamblin), Eloïse T. Simard (Josh’s Wife), Teneisha Collins (Carmen), Zoé Boivin (Wedding Couple), Chidubem Rafael Echendu (Josef Smith Jr.), David Leblanc (Church Leader on Plane),

Airdate: Saturday February 4 2023 at 8.00pm on Lifetime.

Featured Image Credit: Lifetime