JESSICA GOLDBERG: To me that seemed really fun. Instead of seeing something starting, to instead see that move from first generation to second generation. They sort of say that if a religion can make it past that first charismatic leader than it will live—it’ll become like Scientology, or Mormonism, which I know is very accepted but the fact that it made it past that stage.

That that’s when something becomes a religion. Beyond that fact, I just wanted to plop these viewers in this world during the middle of it and have to find their way. It seemed like a very interesting question to see if you can take the religion from one generation to the second, and what that means for the religion.

It’s like a big schism and those moments in the series when you do see the Movement entering into that next stage are certainly the most exciting ones. There must be a fine line though between filling the show with those moments and also keeping it to a degree where things are still moving at a realistic rate. They can’t become this “super cult” immediately.

Right. I feel that the hope is to watch Meyerism grow. We were just talking about this in the writers’ room, too. Like with the whole Bernie Sanders movement; people want to participate, and do things, and get things done. There’s a real sort of need and urgency in the culture right now for that.

Was The Path your first idea for television? I know about the brutal year that you had that led you to writing the pilot, but were there any other ideas that you played around with before that?