Secret Societies: In the Shadows - Season 1

The murky history of secret societies, examining heir origins and their intent, assessing whether they intended to pull the levers of power or aim to destroy those in charge. The Knights Templar owned vast swathes of land, commanded fleets, and lent money to kings. This documentary seeks to separate the facts from the fiction.

While the Illuminati secret order was disbanded in 1785, many believe this elite group still hold the power and pull strings from behind closed doors.

Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. It is a pinnacle of the elite, and its members have become presidents, Supreme Court justices and heads of industry. To be `tapped" is to be welcomed into a line of power brokers with the promise of life-long opportunities.

A look at Le Cercle, which started in the post-war years as a Catholic conservative group built to broker European rapprochement. It now operates as a shadow intelligence agency rumoured to control world politics.

The Freemasons has existed since the 14th century, with its fundamental ideals being promoted as liberty, equality, fraternity, tolerance and humanity. Past members have included Winston Churchill and Rudyard Kipling. From an ancient stoneworker's guild through to the modern era, its mythologies, beliefs and secret rituals have inspired countless works of fiction and speculation. This programme examines its origins and intent, assessing whether its members intend to pull the levers of power or aim to destroy those in charge.

The history of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which was devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.