Michael Jackson The Trial on Channel 4: The truth about what happened to Neverland
The sprawling ranch features heavily in the new documentary seriesMichael Jackson: The Trial is the latest documentary about the King of Pop to land on the small screen – and it’s left fans wondering what on earth happened to Neverland.
The first instalment of the four-part mini series focused heavily on Michael’s Neverland Ranch.
Viewers heard voice recordings from the pop star taken from unseen tapes and heard about his fixation with 10-year-old cancer victim, Gavin Arvizo.
Michael would invite Gavin and other children to Neverland “where they would stay as children forever”, just like in the fairytale Peter Pan.
But as the Channel 4 documentary shows, Michael’s Neverland Ranch ended up at the centre of serious child abuse allegations made against him.
Michael Jackson: The Trial continues tonight. Police will be seen raiding Neverland Ranch after the singer admitted to sharing a bed with children.
Here, as the show continues to play out, we take a look a what has become of Neverland.
Michael Jackson: What happened to Neverland?
Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch continues to draw attention years after the singer’s death in June 2009.
Located in Santa Barbara County, California, the sprawling estate was both Jackson’s home and a private amusement park from 1988 until 2005.
The ranch has now returned to public focus with Michael Jackson: The Trial. In the first episode, eerie music played as viewers were told it was a “very isolated ranch in 3,000 acres”.
Michael could be heard saying: “I could walk around the lake and know I’m not being spied at. I was just creating, in my life, things I never got to do as a child.
“Peter Pan knew what the real golden magic of childhood was all about. And he finds these families and takes the children to Neverland where they stay young forever.”
Tonight, viewers will see the police raiding Neverland.
The ranch also featured in the bombshell 2019 documentary, Leaving Neverland. The two-parter saw Wade Robson and James Safechuck alleged they were groomed and abused there by Jackson as children.
Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch and its changing name
Michael bought Neverland Ranch in 1988. But at the time, the sprawling property and its grounds had a different name.
When it was first built in 1980, the property was known as Zaca Laderas Ranch.
Its property developer, William Bone. purchased the ranch in 1981 and renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch. That changed again in 1988 when Michael Jackson bought the land for around $17 million (£13 million), according to The New York Times.
Michael chose the name Neverland, inspired by the fictional island in Peter Pan. He had first visited the ranch several years earlier in 1983 while meeting Sir Paul McCartney, who was staying there during the filming of Say Say Say.
When did Michael Jackson leave?
Jackson left Neverland Ranch in 2005 after the allegations of sexual abuse involving children emerged. Four years later and the fairground and all the animals, apart from the llamas, were removed.
Michael never returned but continued to own the property until his death in 2009 at the age of 50.
In 2015, six years after his death, Forbes reported that the ranch had been listed for sale at $100 million. Interest was limited, and the estate was later renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch once again to appeal to buyers.
The property was eventually purchased in 2020 by businessman and Jackson family friend, Ronald Burkle, for $22 million (£16million), which was $88 million below the original asking price, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Ronald is believed to have restored much of the fairground, added new rides and refilled swimming pools that had been drained. The petty zoo is also believed to have reinstated.
In 2024, the ranch was evacuated when the Lake Fire, which burned 38,664 acres in Santa Barbara County, spread close to the property.
Is Neverland in the Michael Jackson biopic?
This April, the film Michael will hit cinemas worldwide. The dramatised biopic will follow Michael’s life from the Jackson 5 until his the weeks before his death.
Jaafar Jeremiah Jackson, son of Michael’s brother Jermaine, will play the King of Pop. John Branca, entertainment lawyer and co-executor of the estate of Michael, will be portrayed by actor Miles Teller.
Miles has revealed that Antoine Fuqua’s upcoming biopic filmed scenes at the ranch. He shared the detail during an appearance on Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live.
“I play John Branca, his entertainment lawyer,” Miles said. “We filmed at Neverland. It was wild.”
He confirmed that the property had changed ownership after Jackson left in 2005, but was transformed again for the production.
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