Smartschoolboy9 doc creator exposes “perverted” kids TV show created by a cult

If you’re into dark deep dives, you might want to give Nick Crowley’s new documentary a watch. The creator of the viral smartschoolboy9 mini-doc delves into the most sinister kids’ TV show ever made (and that’s not an understatement). 

Back in September, the smartschoolboy9 saga took the internet by storm, with Crowley’s video on the matter earning more than 10 million views. A subreddit was set up to try and figure out the identity of the man masquerading as children in the hopes of seeing him arrested. 

Although many believe him to be David Alter or David London, we’re still no closer to figuring out who he is, and the smartschoolboy9 Reddit page has since been banned. One thing we’re certain of is that it’s the most disturbing rabbit hole in recent memory. 

But Crowley is never short of material to explore. After smartschoolboy9, he published a video on five horrifying true stories, and now he’s turned his attention to ‘The Darkest Kids TV Show Ever Made’. Warning: some may find this content distressing. 

Life With Grandpa is even scarier than smartschoolboy9

The TV show in question is Life With Grandpa, which on appearances is a puppet show centering on the titular patriarch and his family. Created sometime in the mid-80s, it used skits and songs to teach the young audience life lessons based on Christian values. 

Even before you find out who’s behind the series (more on this shortly), it’s a disturbing watch. The humanoid puppets have a serious uncanny valley effect, and some of the lessons are straight-up horrifying. 

In numerous scenes, Grandpa and his family endorse spanking using what looks like a whip. Life With Grandpa’s stance on women is also concerning, portraying them to be objects who are there to “do the dishes and clean the floor.”

The creators seemed to have a dislike towards doctors and modern medicine, instead choosing to let God do the work. But most concerning of all are the sexually suggestive skits. 

Perhaps the most notable (and bizarre) episode shows Grandpa as a scientist alongside his “lover”: a robot with naked, human breasts tacked on. 

YouTube: Nick Crowley

As Crowley states, “It’s one of the most surreal things I’ve ever seen on a kids’ show, as this thing was clearly meant to be a portrayal of Grandpa’s wife and women in general, likening them to robots. 

“Though unlike the previous demeaning song, this number is blatantly perverted, as it not only shows the robot having breasts but it also shows Grandpa fondling them.”

The YouTuber goes on to highlight the lyrics, which are just as disturbing: “He puts in his key and that’s when she gets excited.”

Much like the Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey cult, the overarching message in Life With Grandpa directed towards children is: “trust and obey.”

Once you know who’s behind the TV show, you’ll be shocked but not surprised that it ever got made. 

David Berg and the messed up teachings of the Children of God cult 

The TV show was based on the illustrated book series of the same name, which was created by The Family International (TFI) cult. 

Founded by David Brandt Berg in 1968, the cult started out as a fundamentalist group that spread the message of salvation, upholding the belief that the apocalypse was coming and the outside world (known by them as The System) should not be trusted. 

Through this message, he convinced the group to leave the US, resulting in thousands of TFI members spreading out across the globe. 

Over time, TFI became increasingly sexual. It began among the adult members of the group, with Berg urging members to engage in polyamory. 

In the mid-70s, he instilled a new practice named “Flirty Fishing,” which basically ordered the female participants to go to bars and engage in sex with strangers in exchange for money, and in a bid to find converts. 

YouTube: Nick Crowley

During this time, Berg became increasingly unhinged. He would communicate to his followers with “Mo Letters,” many of which promoted his disturbing philosophies. He also adopted a number of nicknames including King, Moses, and Grandpa. 

Although the cult named itself the Children of God, Berg renamed it the Family of Love in 1978. However, Berg’s interpretation of “love” was anything but. 

“David Berg was a deeply perverted man. The idea of sex consumed him and seeped its way into essentially all of his teachings,” says Crowley in the creepy YouTube doc.

Things took an even darker turn when Berg began preaching through his Mo Letters that children should be involved in sexual affairs. 

“In fact, he believed that children should be taught about this lifestyle essentially as soon as they’re born… and much like Flirty Fishing, it was mandatory,” he continues. 

Due to the teachings of TFI and the brainwashing from the group’s materials – including Life With Grandpa – the children brought into the cult were taught to “obey.”

The case of “Davidito”

The most disturbing example of the impact of TFI’s abuse is the case of Ricky Rodriguez, who is portrayed in Life with Grandpa as Davidito. Ricky was conceived by his mother Karen Zerby, known by the group as Maria, after a night of Flirty Fishing. 

Maria was Berg’s wife, and he took Ricky in as his adopted son. From the beginning, he was groomed by his parents and the members to be the next leader, with the idea for him to take over from Berg. 

Not only was he subjected to extreme sexual abuse throughout his entire childhood, including by a cohort of adult women referred to as “nannies,” but the abuse was detailed in writing and photos in the TFI-published ‘The Davidito Book’.

Even when Ricky managed to escape as an adult, the trauma proved too much for him to bear. In 2005, he recorded a suicide message describing how he was going to infiltrate the cult and murder his abusers.

At this stage, Berg was already gone, having died in 1994. However, the Children of God continued, led by his mother. When the time came, he ended up stabbing Angela Smith – a “nanny” and one of his prominent abusers – to death, before taking his own life. 

Is The Family International still going?

YouTube: Nick Crowley

Despite mountains of evidence and survivors sharing detailed stories of abuse they suffered, The Family International has never been brought to justice and the group is still active today. 

There are many reasons for this, one of which will no doubt leave you feeling infuriated. Because Berg convinced the members to disperse around the world, it’s very difficult to prosecute them due to differing legal systems. 

Additionally, the group renounced its illegal sexual practices in the 1980s, rebranding as The Family International, making it harder to hold them accountable for historical crimes, especially when it comes to the statute of limitations. 

Then there’s the fact that many of the followers have changed their names and identities, making them near impossible to track down. 

Shockingly, TFI is still going to this day, describing itself as an “online Christian network of individuals in 75 countries, committed to sharing the message of God’s love with others.”

Karen Zerby also has an active website, where she’s named “the spiritual and administrative co-director of the Family International.” As Crowley points out, she’s not been photographed or seen publicly since 2010. 

Viewers left “disturbed” by Life with Grandpa

YouTube: Nick Crowley

Since dropping on YouTube, Crowley’s video on the case has been watched more than one million times, receiving thousands of comments from disturbed viewers. As said by one, “This was worse than I expected.”

“Mad respect for the people who spoke out, especially Davida and Ricky. That couldn’t have been easy,” said another, while a third added, “The video title is NOT a joke. This sh*t is LITERALLY some of the most vile, evil, horrifying, sadistic, and vomit-inducing garbage ever put on tapes.”

Many have expressed shock that the cult is still going, including this person who wrote, “The fact that the cult still exists because they ‘say’ they don’t do that stuff anymore, and that the legal system accepts that promise is mind-blowing.”

Others have expressed sympathy towards Ricky. “I can’t blame Ricky at all for his choices or his failed plan, not even the actions he actually took that fateful night. How could anyone be expected to come out of that existence any healthier?” said one. 

“In his eyes and through his trauma he saw that people were getting away with the abuses he’d suffered since infancy, and everyday he wasn’t doing something more children were being subjected to the same kind of torturous existence.

“Him admitting that he only felt worse after he broke and killed his abuser was just so human, evidence that he had morality and empathy none of the cultists had as they broke him.”

For more true crime content, check out our deep dive into the The Synanon Fix, Crowley’s Pipergate doc, and how to watch Mormon Mom Gone Wrong for free.