This series brings to life Charles Manson's world and how he assembled a group of young followers in a commune, four of whom would go on to commit the most infamous series of murders in US history, which came to be seen across the world as the dark side to the hippy movement.

The footage was discovered after British producer Simon Andreae traced the whereabouts of filmmaker Robert Hendrickson, who had been given exclusive access to the Manson cult 50 years ago. His own documentary, Manson, was released in 1973 but banned by a judge shortly afterwards.

A private investigator was hired, who discovered Hendrickson had died a few weeks earlier leaving a vast collection of footage, interviews and photos.

Manson: The Lost Tapes draws on digitally restored and remastered versions of that material along with new interviews with Manson cult members and experts to present the inside story of how an apparently peace-loving commune was turned into America's most horrifying group of cold-blooded killers.