The Program viewers slam “disgusting” parents and demand “jail time”

The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping has raced to first spot on Netflix, with viewers busy dissecting the details of the true crime series. Now, focus has turned to the parents, with some demanding they face “jail time.”

At the top of Netflix’s TV show charts is The Program, a disturbing yet important deep dive into the troubled teen industry. This is far from the first time the issue has been talked about in recent years, with Paris Hilton’s 2020 documentary This is Paris and Netflix’s 2023 outing Hell Camp demonstrating how these programs designed for wayward youths often cause more harm than good – and are rife with abuse. 

The Program has been praised for its thoughtful, detailed examination of the industry, as has its director, Katherine Kubler, who knows firsthand how damaging these schools can be – when she was a teen, she was made to stay at one for 15 months. In the docuseries, Kubler and a group of her former classmates detail the abuse they experienced while at the WWASP-affiliated facility, the Academy at Ivy Ridge in upstate New York. 

While there, they weren’t allowed to talk, smile, go outside, or communicate with the outside world – and this was just the tip of the iceberg. Though they were enrolled in the ‘00s, as The Program examines, many of these troubled teen programs are still in operation today. With the series out now, viewers are calling for retribution – not only for the organizers but also the parents for sending their kids to these institutions. 

The Program viewers slam “disgusting” parents and demand “jail time”

The Program reveals that WWASP (World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools) ran a number of troubled teen programs. Viewers have been left feeling angry towards the parents for sending their children to these institutions for months, sometimes years at a time. Especially when it’s revealed that the staff had no formal training or credentials.

For Katherine, as well as seeking to raise awareness about the troubled teen industry, she wants her father to understand the emotional scars she endured as a result of being made to stay at Ivy Ridge. Her journey started with one of WWASP’s regularly used tactics – being kidnapped in the middle of the night and taken away with no explanation or indication of how long she’d be there. 

In an emotional scene, she interviews her dad, who says it was a “terrible mistake” and shifts blame to the school, saying, “They manipulate parents.” However, viewers of the Netflix docuseries state that parents shouldn’t be sending their children to a place where they don’t have contact or know what’s really going on. 

Taking to Reddit, one described the parents as “disgusting,” writing: “Sorry, I don’t really feel bad for the parents who put their kids through this sh*t. At least a month + of not talking to your own child and having no idea wtf is going on there? What a joke. And when you do talk to your flesh and blood it’s only for 15 minutes and it’s censored? For alcohol? Without even attempting counseling or any other mental health intervention? 

“You’re a sh*t parent and you should absolutely feel guilty. I am not a parent but I know damn well my own parents and my friends who have children would never ever be ok with one 15 minute call a month maybe. With staff you don’t even know who’s around your kid? Nor would they ever send their children away as a minor for that long. I don’t care how bad you were swindled by the ‘education counselor’.”

“I’m watching a docuseries on Netflix called The Program and all I gotta say is… there are so many parents that do not deserve to have kids,” commented another. “Holy sh*t. Their ‘troubled teens’ were traumatized even further and I feel so bad for them.” And a third added, “Watching The Program on Netflix and these parents need jail time too.”

Others are angry at Katherine’s father specifically. She had already been through a lot as a child after her mom died. When she was seven, her father remarried, and that’s when things “turned horrible.” She started acting out as teens often do, but rather than being offered help she was sent away to Ivy Ridge. Many believe she should have been treated with love and care, and feel Katherine’s dad was choosing his wife over his own daughter. 

“That stepmother is like the fear every divorced mom has. The kind that wants you gone,” wrote one Redditor, while another said about the dad, “He clearly did not give a flying sh*t about her… just says, ‘Oh I was conned out of money, bad people, poor me.’” A third added, “I agree about the stepmother, but her father supported her stepmother rather than his child. I understand entirely why Kathy has no time for her father.”

The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping is available to stream on Netflix now – you can read our breakdown of the ending here, and check out all of the new true crime and documentaries heading to streaming this month.