There’s a lot of moving parts to Netflix’s fascinating and disturbing docuseries, The Family. From director Jesse Moss and executive producer Alex Gibney (an Oscar-winning director who most recently helmed HBO’s Elizabeth Holmes doc, The Inventor), the five-part limited series is in part an adaptation of journalist and executive producer Jeff Sharlet’s book, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power. It centers around a secret Christian organization that is officially known as The Fellowship, but it is, according to Sharlet and other members interviewed in the documentary, more commonly referred to as “The Family.”

The Family has been around for over 80 years, and though most U.S. presidents probably know about it, it has shielded itself from the public—until now. If you’d like to know a little bit about The Family before diving into the docuseries, here’s a basic overview.

What is The Family, aka The Fellowship?

The Family, officially known as The Fellowship, is an evangelical Christian conservative organization that has deep ties in U.S. national politics dating back to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It is the organization responsible for the annual National Prayer Breakfast, which every president since Eisenhower has attended at least once. The organization was founded in 1935, by Abraham Vereide, and it is known for its extremely unorthodox reading of the Bible, along with its enigmatic motto: “Jesus plus nothing.” Unlike more traditional Christian Right organizations, The Family was interested in working in secrecy, believing that to be a more effective way to influence powerful politicians.

The group is connected to the C Street Center, which is a townhouse in Washington DC that gained attention in 2010 for being a “frat house for Jesus,” where five Republican congressmen—Senator John Ensign and Tom Coburn and Representatives Bart Stupak, Mike Doyle, and Zach Wamp—lived and prayed.

Though it is never referred to as a cult, the c-word looms large in Sharlet’s description of the way he, as a young writer, went to live in a communal-living house with other members of The Family. There, Sharlet says, he attended odd Bible studies, was given limited to access to his phone, and at one point, was beat up by the other members.

Who is Doug Coe?

Though not the founder of The Family, Doug Coe was the organization’s prominent leader until his death in 2017 at the age of 88. He seems to know every politician in Washington—Jimmy Carter, in an interview for the docuseries, calls him “a fine Christian.” In 2005, Time named Coe one of the most influential Evangelicals in the United States. In several video speeches featured in the docuseries, he speaks to his belief that keeping The Family a secret organization would make it more powerful and influential, comparing it to the mafia.

What does The Family do?

That’s the question, isn’t it! It’s not something that’s easily summed up, and even after you watch the five-part docuseries it might be totally clear. The main goal, rather than policy-making, seems to be forging connections with politicians and world leaders and then making sure none of those politicians speak about what exactly The Family does. These days, The Family is slightly less secret than it once was, and has a website, where it is called “The Fellowship Foundation.”

Watch The Family on Netflix