Airdate: The Radical Story of Patty Hearst

Six part doco series The Radical Story of Patty Hearst begins on streaming service iwonder this week.

The series follows the transformation of Patty Hearst from heiress to terrorist in a saga of privilege, celebrity, politics, media, revolution and violence.

Alexandra Fox-Hughes, Head of Content at documentary streaming service, iwonder, says: “The Radical Story of Patty Hearst really does have to be seen to be believed. More than 40 years after these bizarre events took place, the story of this enigmatic woman continues to inspire the curiosity of people all over the world and we’re delighted to be able to give viewers in Australia the opportunity to see a new side of the Patty Hearst story from the perspectives of the people who knew her most intimately.”

In Berkeley, USA, 1974, Patty Hearst, the 19-year-old daughter of one of the richest and most powerful families in the US and granddaughter of media magnate William Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped and held hostage by a mysterious revolutionary group called the Symbionese Liberation Army, only to turn from captive to willing revolutionary and fugitive on the run from the FBI. From Emmy award-winning producer and best-selling author, Jeffrey Toobin, drawing on new evidence and interviews with key characters at the heart of events, available exclusively on iwonder from Friday 15th November, The Radical Story of Patty Hearst is a fascinating retelling of a stranger-than- fiction story that shook America.

Episode One introduces Patty Hearst, a member of one of the most notable and wealthy families in America. At age 19, Patty made the controversial decision to move into a Berkeley apartment with her 26-year old boyfriend and teacher, Steven Weed. While Patty lived a quiet, non-political existence in Berkeley, there was a revolution brewing around her, characterised by the formation of the anti-establishment Symbionese Liberation Army. On the night of February 4, 1974, armed members of the SLA viciously attacked Steven Weed and abducted Patty Hearst from her apartment.

Over the course of the six-part series, the film follows the rollercoaster story of Patty’s conversion from hostage to gun-toting fully-fledged member of the SLA, the fatal LAPD siege of an SLA hideout, the FBI search for Patty and her eventual arrest, trial, incarceration, pardon and transition back to the status of American royalty.

Over 40 years after the remarkable events that began to unfold in February 1974, newly discovered evidence, archival footage, cinematic recreations and exclusive first-hand accounts shed new light on one of the biggest and most bizarre stories in modern American history.

The Radical Story of Patty Hearst includes unprecedented access to key figures in the story including Bill Harris, the man that abducted Hearst from her apartment in 1974, and Steven Weed, the fiancé who witnessed it all.

Best-selling author and Emmy® Award-winning producer Jeffrey Toobin (The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story) serves as one of the executive producers.

Friday November 15th on iwonder.