We’re just ankle-deep into the new fall television season, but already I’m struck by one thing: TV’s found religion.
In a way, it’s had it for a few years now. Some of the medium’s most acclaimed shows, from Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale to FX’s (recently concluded) The Americans to even HBO’s Game of Thrones have delved deeply into what and how faith can shape us, both individually and collectively. Others, like HBO’s The Leftovers or NBC’s The Good Place, are rooted in worlds that force its characters to ask deep, spiritual questions about life and meaning. Some shows examine faith as if they were examining a blot of blood, or mold and shape it as if it was a lump of clay. And that’s all great.
But at least two new shows treat faith differently than we typically see from many of these high-prestige shows: They embrace it, as they might a long-lost friend. And that, in today’s cynical entertainment landscape, is noteworthy indeed.
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