''Savior Complex'' is an American

true crime True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

series directed and produced by

Jackie Jesko Jackie Jesko is an American film director, producer, and journalist. Jesko has worked on ''Vice'' on both iterations on HBO and Showtime. She has additionally worked on projects for Vice TV. In 2023, she directed and produced '' Savior Complex'' ...

. It explores the case of Serving His Children, a nonprofit organization founded by Renee Bach. Allegations arise when Bach treated sick children without medical qualifications, resulting in the deaths of children on the charity’s watch. It premiered on September 26, 2023, on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

Premise

In 2009, Renee Bach starts Serving His Children, a Christian nonprofit organization, offering free meals and treatment for malnourished children. Despite not being a doctor and having no formal training, Bach treated children, resulting in the deaths of 105 children on the charity's watch. The series additionally explores missionary work, and

non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

that are used to provide resources in developing countries. Bach appears in the series alongside the founders of No White Saviors; Olivia Alaso and Kelsey Nielsen, head nurse of SHC, Constance Alonyo, SHC volunteer Jackie Kramlich, head of pediatrics at Jinja Hospital, Aber Tagnoola, human rights attorney, Primah Kwagala, two mothers who sued Renee after the deaths of their children, Kakai Annet and Gimbo Zubeda.

Episodes

Production

discovered Renee Bach's story after reading an

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

article, wanting to make a documentary focusing on the legacy of

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

and harmful

white savior The term white savior is a critical description of a White people, white person who is depicted as liberating, rescuing or uplifting Person of color, non-white people; it is critical in the sense that it describes a pattern in which people of colo ...

narratives that shape the minds of

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

. Ugandan officials including the police and department of health, did not want to participate, which the filmmakers attribute to politics. Jesko did not show Bach the series prior to its release, and has not remained in touch with her.

Roger Ross Williams Roger Ross Williams (born September 16, 1962) is an American director, producer and writer and the first African American director to win an Academy Award (Oscar), with his short film '' Music by Prudence''; this film won the Academy Award for B ...

serves as an executive producer.

Reception

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the series has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Brian Tallerico of ''

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...

'' gave the series 3.5 out of 4 stars, writing: "Savior Complex" is a remarkably detailed examination of this shocking case that answers most viewer questions as they arise by segueing back and forth from Bach’s story to the other people involved in this tale, intercut with sharp, revealing footage. And it never lets Bach off the hook, countering her claims with heartbreaking eyewitness testimony, showing how no one has the full picture here". Chris Vognar of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' gave the series a positive review writing: "The result is a deeply troubling story that you paradoxically don’t want to see end, never boring but never descending to the hyperbole employed by more than one of its subjects."

References

External links

* * {{HBO documentaries 2020s American documentary television series American English-language television shows HBO original programming HBO documentary films True crime television series Television series based on actual events Television series by Home Box Office 2023 American television series debuts