God Friended Me First Impressions

“If you think about it, it’s kinda like a grand design.”

Just because you are committed to an idea doesn’t mean it will appeal to or work with a broad audience. I’m a little confused as to what CBS is going for with this one. God Friended Me ended up on my radar at the same time that the Magnum P.I. remake did. I was still in the middle of mocking the commercial for Magnum P.I. when I first saw a commercial for this show. I remember because the next words out of my mouth were, “Nevermind. Maybe a Magnum P.I. reboot isn’t that bad an idea after all.” My confusion is largely due to this show wanting to be several different things, none of which actually work on their own. It wants to be an hour-long comedy that touches upon existential themes, like Kevin (Probably) Saves the World. It also wants to mine comedy from the subject of an individual going through a crisis of faith, like in Living Biblically. This doesn’t seem like a terrible combination until you realize neither of those series lasted more than season and 6 month old bologna has gotten a better reception than Living Biblically did. The best way I could sum up this show would be as a misguided blend of Person of Interest and Touched By An Angel.

If I am being honest, watching this show was something of a zero sum game. Either it was as annoying as the commercials seemed to suggest, which would make it frustrating as hell to watch, or it was more competently put together, which would result in something more palatable, but less interesting. God Friended Me falls primarily into the latter category, though it does reach its toe across the line from time to time. It swings like a pendulum between having actual interesting thoughts and just being twee social commentary spliced with grating awkward comedy. The show follows Brandon Michael Hall as Miles Finer, an atheist podcast host who finds himself trying to unravel a peculiar mystery when a Facebook account simply named “God” starts forcing his involvement in other people’s lives. He’s joined by Cara Bloom, a struggling reporter who the “God” account leads him to meet. Both Hall and Violett Beane, who plays Cara, do a decent enough job with what they’re given, but the side characters are insufferable. Both Miles’s sister and coworker struggle to deliver the lines they’re given, not that I can blame them. The first serves as the show’s exposition fairy and the latter is supposed to be the show’s geeky comedic relief. The exception to this is Joe Morton, who plays Miles’ father, who is also a reverend, because of course he is. Contrived and tired plot point aside, I don’t know if Morton knows how not to provide a commanding performance. Miles isn’t the straw man atheist stereotype that one would likely encounter in the recent wave of religious films, but he comes closer than one might like. The show is quick to condemn him for “taking away people’s hope,” and the character falls into the trap of not believing in God not for intellectual reasons, but because he resents God for the death of a loved one. It’s lazy characterization, and my growing disdain for the characters makes the trite drama all the less palatable.

I alluded to Person of Interest earlier, due to the six degrees of separation style detective work that the episode is built around, but this is Person of Interest with the training wheels on. Since the show is driven by narrative contrivances bestowed by a seemingly omniscient entity there’s little opportunity for viewers to connect the dots themselves before the characters do. Even when a circumstance does arise where the viewer could posit a theory, this show might as well be called Occam’s Razor as the simplest answer is bound to be the correct one. The show also proves to be where subtlety and subtext go to die. There are several points where characters engage in discussions about the investigation of the “God” account and there is a distinct sense that the parties involved may as well turn directly to the camera and speak their stilted theology debates directly at it. The production is nothing to write home about, but you don’t need much to pull off a concept like this. The show tries to come up with reasons to show off technology, including a FaceTime chat where we can see the characters screen projected to the side, but it isn’t warranted.

Before I wrap up, a few Notes and Nitpicks:

• I normally don’t touch upon the subject of theology in reviews (At least, not since the Dove Foundation rejected my application), but for the sake of giving a sense of where I am coming from, I am Jewish and favor an agnostic outlook. It’s not that I question whether or not God exists; it’s that I don’t care one way or another. As long as your goal is to be kind and not cause harm to others, what does it matter if someone is keeping a checklist?
• Brandon Michael Hall previously starred in the ABC sitcom The Mayor. Violett Beane was in the movie Truth or Dare and CW’s The Flash.
• This first episode really enjoys the song “Human” by Rag‘n’Bone Man. I guess I found one thing I can agree with the episode on.
• Why does the title card look like it belongs in a Cards Against Humanity deck?
• I chuckled at two points in this episode. One was when Miles made a little crack about how he might wander off and get a churro. The other was when he explained how his mom died. This may give you a sense of how poorly the dramatic moments landed with me.
• Has anyone ever used FaceTime outside of television? I consider it a possibility, but I’m not entirely convinced.