Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult – Review | HBO

BRING ME THE BEAUTIES: A MODEL CULT on HBO Max is a true crime documentary series in three parts. It’s a breathtaking and scary dive into the world of a cult. One that had the most famous male model at the time as its poster boy. Read our Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult docuseries review here!

BRING ME THE BEAUTIES: A MODEL CULT is an HBO Original Documentary with three episodes. It’s a true crime docuseries about a cult, which is something we’ve seen quite a few times by now. And yet, I cannot help but be fascinated by how people find themselves suddenly trapped in a cult.

In the case of this cult, it was legitimized (well, sort of) by having male supermodel Hoyt Richards as a virtual spokesperson. However, the cult itself has all the usual craziness you’d expect. Not least, having a leader who is treated like a guru and acts like a dictator.

All three episodes were watched for this review. Both because the documentary is well-made and because I could not stop watching. This is a well-made documentary about a topic that I can’t seem to tire of: Cults and those who survive getting caught up in one!

Continue reading our Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult docuseries review below. Start watching on HBO and HBO Max on June 1, 2026.

Aliens and religion… ALL the religions

Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult is all about yet another cult that ends up being just like all the other cults out there. These cults often have some mantra or idea that they were originally built on. In the case of this cult, Eternal Values, it’s all about aliens and how they have entered the bodies of certain people.

And yet, before long, you’ll realize it’s also about religion. Not any religion in particular, but rather all the religions. As such, the leader can pick and choose whatever best suits any action he wishes to take. Smart, really, but also so very predictable of a cult leader.

I find this so fascinating, but not at all surprising. Also, I don’t want to judge any of these members. As we’ve heard before from other former cult members, these people do not set out to join a cult. Instead, they join a community focused on yoga or self-improvement… and suddenly find themselves in a cult.

This is also the case with Eternal Values. Admittedly, the whole alien aspect would probably throw me, but this was in the 1980s, and everything was pretty crazy.

Meet Frederick von Mierers

Overall, this HBO documentary features the story of model Hoyt Richards. He was only 16 years old when he first met the very handsome and enigmatic Frederick von Mierers. This happened when he was vacationing with his family on Nantucket. The same place the Manhattan socialite always spent summers.

Within a few years, Hoyt Richards found himself pulled into the spiritual group, Eternal Values, which Frederick von Mierers was the leader of. Then Hoyt Richards went on to become one of the first (and certainly the biggest at one point) male supermodels of the 1980s.

This was perfect, as Frederick von Mierers seemed to value beauty over all else.

Eternal Values was clearly a very cult-like group from the beginning, but this was also in the 1980s in New York. Everything new and exciting was worth checking out in this time of New Age curiosity. And Frederick von Mierers was a larger-than-life person who could sell both the metaphysical and spiritual teachings.

The three episodes of Bring Me the Beauties documentary

Bring Me the Beauties: The Model Cult is told through several intense and honest first-person interviews. Each episode focuses on a different aspect, but also, we begin in the early days of this cult and end with the aftermath. And also, the realization that not all its members felt it was a bad thing.

“The Promise” is Episode 1

We hear how Hoyt Richards first met Frederick von Mierers in 1978. This man was a self-proclaimed guru preaching a seductive gospel of Eastern philosophy, astrology, and New Age spirituality. Hoyt, meanwhile, was about to become a hugely successful model, traveling the world to work.

And, of course, giving virtually all his earnings to the cult.

“The Antichrist Tapes” is Episode 2

Frederick von Mierers has gone down the classic cult path of predicting a coming global cataclysm. It’s coming in 1999, so the group needs to prepare. No Cool-Aid will come into play, but the group moves into a compound in North Carolina.

Here, alien spaceships can land to take them to safety. Also, we meet Jacki Adams, a female top model, who joins the group and quickly lands in hot water.

“Mind Games” is Episode 3

This is all about the aftermath of Eternal Values as the group splinters and eventually dwindles in North Carolina. As 1999 approaches, Hoyt Richards starts getting more skeptical as he also travels the world and cannot recognize the cult teachings any longer.

He escapes to California and ultimately reconnects with his family and is able to tell his story today.

Start watching Bring Me the Beauties: The Model Cult on HBO

This new HBO Original comes from director and executive producer Chris Smith. This documentary filmmaker previously worked on Fyre (2019), Tiger King, and Bad Vegan. To name just a few! Also on board as executive producers are Ryann Fraser, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Sara Rodriguez.

Alongside models Hoyt Richards and Jacki Adams, who both appear to be intensely honest and forthcoming about everything, we also hear from many other former members and people who were friends with these members.

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The featured participants include the former Eternal Values members Paul Hinton, Dar Dixon, and Elissa Melaragno. Also, we hear from model Fabio Lanzoni (yes, the Fabio), who tried his best to help and support his colleague, Hoyt Richards, as he struggled after leaving the cult.

Also, we hear from family members of Hoyt Richards and get to know Frederick Von Mierers through various archival footage. He was clearly a mesmerizing character, but also became increasingly strange-looking. Then again, this takes place in the 1980s, which makes everything relative to that time.

If you, like me, cannot stop watching these true crime documentaries about cults, then you’ll want to watch this one. Especially because they speak with so many former members. Both those who regret getting caught up in the cult and those who, to this day, feel they got something positive out of it all.

BRING ME THE BEAUTIES premieres on HBO and HBO Max on June 1, 2026.