Biological warfare. LSD. CIA conspiracies.
Netflix’s upcoming true crime documentary has all this and more. Directed by the legendary Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line), Wormwood deals with the mysterious case of Frank Olson, his involvement with the CIA and the MK-ULTRA project, and his apparent suicide.
A biological warfare scientist and bacteriologist, Frank Olson worked with the CIA on a top-secret U.S. bioweapons program beginning in 1943. In 1953, at a retreat at Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, the head of the CIA's Technical Services Staff (TSS), Sid Gottlieb, spiked a bottle of Cointreau and dosed an unknowing Olson with LSD. After subsequently suffering from paranoia and a nervous breakdown, Olson allegedly jumped out of his 13th-floor hotel window, dying shortly after the fall. Many, including Olson’s family, believe that Frank Olson was murdered by the CIA.
The six-part docuseries explores the strange details of the case and follows Frank Olson’s son, Eric Olson, as he digs for answers about his father’s unusual and untimely death. Did the CIA murder Frank Olson? If so, what were they covering up? Watch Wormwood when all six episodes drop on December 15!
Watch the trailer for Wormwood!