Faithful Viewer is an occasional newsletter/blog about faith (and the lack thereof) in popular culture written by religion journalist Kimberly Winston. Subscriptions are free.
It’s the new season for television and movies. In true Faithful Viewer manner, here is a roundup of some of the new offerings that dabble in religion and faith themes, tropes and stories. This is not a complete list — I only have one pair of eyeballs! Some of these I have seen, others are on my to-watch list and others are on my doo-doo list. I hope you’ll find something worth spending time on.
All times below are Eastern. Adjust accordingly.
TELEVISION
“His Dark Materials” on HBO (debuts Nov. 4, 2019)
I’ve read the Philip Pullman trilogy this series is based on over and over again, despite the fact it was intended for children (no way - my boys were flummoxed by it when they were pre-teens). Pullman, an atheist, tells the saga of a young girl named Lyra who battles an evil religious organization called “The Magisterium” that looks suspiciously like the Catholic Church. At the heart of the conflict is who will control “Dust,” an elusive element that may or may not be what humans call souls and acts a lot like dark matter. HBO and BBC have spent a lot of $$$ on this series and it shows in the lavish costumes and sets as well as in the stellar cast (James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott and Lin-Manuel Miranda). I cannot wait for this one.
“The Righteous Gemstones” on HBO
I have a rule about giving television shows at least three episodes before giving up on them. I broke that rule for this new series, about a family of Southern televangelists, because I simply could not bear to lose another hour of my life to such a cliche-ridden, unfunny mess. Feel free to disagree with me. But I’m moving on to other shows. Its one saving grace is the wonderful John Goodman as the family patriarch, but even he could not save it for me. Stinky.
“Watchmen” on HBO (debuts Oct. 20, 2019)
I am not familiar with the source material, a pair of graphic novels (up-speak for comic books) from the 1980s, but the series comes from Damon Lindelhof of HBO’s “The Leftovers,” which, for my money, was one of the most thought-provoking television shows about faith and the lack thereof. I interviewed Lindelhof when “The Leftovers” concluded and we talked about how religion and spirituality always inform his work (including the polarizing “Lost” — yes, he’s THAT guy). I cannot tell from the trailer how religion-y the show will be but I saw what looked like rosary beads, a crucifix and the main character is called a “nun.” And in a 2018 Instagram, Lindelhof, who was raised Jewish, uses a lot of religious language and imagery in talking about the series:
Whatever “Watchmen” will be, it won’t be boring.
“Evil” on CBS, Thursdays, 9 p.m.
This new drama puts a skeptical psychologist (Katja Herbers) and two “assessors” from the Catholic Church (Aasif Mandvi, of “Halal in the Family,” and Mike Colter) together on cases of possible demonic possession. The trailer about scared the pants off me (I’m notoriously allergic to scary stuff) so not sure I can watch this. What I’ve seen touches on the usual, easy religious tropes (protective rosaries, the atheist-leaning person of science confronted with things she cannot explain), but as it comes from the creators of “The Good Wife” and “The Good Fight,” it has the potential to tackle questions of good, evil and faith in meaningful ways.
“The Good Place,” NBC, Thursdays, 9 p.m.
If you have not indulged in this fast, biting comedy about an afterlife that promises everyone dream homes, dream mates and all the frozen yogurt you can eat, you are missing out. Or does it? The show is more about moral philosophy than it is about religion (to date, neither God nor Satan have made appearances), but it manages to somehow make Socrates, Martin Heidegger, Thomas Nagel, et al wickedly funny on network television. This is the smartest thing on NBC in a very long time. This is its final season, so binge, binge, binge.
FILMS:
“By the Grace of God” (“Grace A Dieu”) (Oct. 18, 2019)
Religion reporters like me were treated to a trailer of this French-Belgian subtitled film at this year’s annual Religion News Association conference. Usually, the films we are subjected to over dinner are, um, less than fabulous. But this one, based on a true story about a pedophile priest and his victims, looked good and has received rave reviews and film festival awards. Think of this film as France’s own “Spotlight.”
“Temblores” (“Tremors”) (Oct. 23, 2019)
Guatemalan filmmaker Jayro Bustamante looks at the disruption caused when a married man and father of two comes out as gay. The Catholic Church, you know, frowns upon such things, especially in traditional Central America, and the protagonist undergoes Catholic “conversion therapy,” a.k.a. “pray the gay away.”
“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” (Nov. 22, 2019)
This is the big Hollywood movie about Fred Rogers, who was, in fact, a Presbyterian minister and often spoke of his work in educational television as a ministry or a mission. Tom Hanks looks sure to shine here — he’s got the smile and the hand-to-hand shoe toss down. Don’t look for lots of explicit religion here, but there will be broad spiritual themes — as there was in the source material, a much-lauded Esquire profile by journalist Tom Junod, which you can read here.
“The Two Popes” (Nov. 27, 2019)
This film, from Netflix but playing first in theaters, is either going to be a religion nerd’s dream or nightmare. I’m betting on dream — Anthony Hopkins plays Pope Benedict XVI and Jonathan Pryce plays Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who, as B-16’s successor becomes Pope Francis. The film imagines long and wide-ranging conversations between the two based on their conflicting views of the church. At one point in the trailer, B-16 says “The hardest thing is to listen. To hear God’s voice,” bringing all of the weight of his status as one of the finest English-speaking actors ever. See this even if you are not Catholic, not religious and not interested in church politics. The performances of these two alone should be worth it.
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