Now in its second season, E!'s drama The Arrangement — about the contracted relationship between a movie star and a Hollywood newcomer — has courted plenty of comparison to the Church of Scientology as well as gossip about the Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes marriage. The show is not advertised as being based on it in any way, but what does the Church of Scientology think of The Arrangement?
The drama focuses on a movie star, Kyle (Josh Henderson), whose life and career are managed by a mysterious "Institute," and the woman, Megan (Christine Evangelista), who signs a $10 million contract with the organization agreeing to be Kyle's eventual wife. Shortly after the show's premiere, The Washington Post's Bethonie Butler wrote in a review that this institute was "clearly meant to evoke Scientology," and claimed Kyle and Megan's complicated love story was a "thinly-veiled spin" on rumors surrounding Cruise and Holmes' real-life relationship.
However, it appears that the church hasn't issued a statement regarding the show. This may stem from the fact that the cast and showrunners have been very conscious not to draw any specific comparisons between the real belief system and the fictional "Institute Of The Higher Mind." In 2017, The Arrangement's creator, Jonathan Abrahams, was adamant during a panel when he claimed that despite surface similarities between Kyle and Megan and Cruise and Holmes, respectively, this is an original story that he's trying to tell.
"I'm not trying to grab headlines. We weren't working our way towards a couch-jumping," he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter, referencing Cruise's infamous joyful leap onto Oprah's couch during a conversation about Holmes. "It was really about how do you normalize this sort of ludicrous arrangement? The idea of this seems so crazy, but it happens. How do free-thinking, intelligent people make decisions like this and what are the ramifications? What are their lives like?" He did say, though, that even if the show were inspired by Scientology, he'd never be able to confirm that publicly. "It's clear to me that even if I could say that, that I could legally do it, I don't have the authority to say that," Abrahams continued at the same panel, presumably referring to possible legal action. "It doesn’t really matter because it really isn't."
The President of E! himself, Adam Stotsky, also told The Hollywood Reporter that the project is "fiction." "It wasn't inspired by any particular person or couple or group," Stotsky said. "In The Arrangement, our antagonist belongs to the Institute Of The Higher Mind. It's a fictional self-help organization, and it pulls upon lots of resources that exist here in the Hollywood community." Though the creators and network have not sought the connection, however, there is the possibility that as the show goes on, that the church might have something to say about it. Especially since many viewers don't seem so convinced that the writers weren't thinking about the religion as they sketched this series.
Paste writer Matt Brennan wrote that The Arrangement's second season — in particular Megan's quest to "burn it all down" — calls to mind former church member Leah Remini's A&E series, Leah Remini: Scientology And The Aftermath. (In the show, Remini seeks to expose secrets that she claims the church has been keeping for years.) A spokesperson for the Church of Scientology told USA Today that Remini's series is inaccurate. "Nothing about A&E’s Leah Remini “docuseries” is honest," the statement reads, in part. "The singular goal of the program is to make money and boost ratings by spreading salacious lies to promote A&E’s ugly brand of religious intolerance, bigotry and hatred."
So, perhaps if The Arrangement were to ever outright compare itself to Scientology or refer to the organization by name, that would spur some kind of response. That seems extremely unlikely based on prior comments by the showrunner and the network, but only time will tell how things will play out as the series goes on.
The controversial church is becoming more and more visible in terms of media, though, as it has recently detailed plans to launch its own TV channel. If The Arrangement stays its careful current course, it may be able to avoid comment altogether.
