GOD FRIENDED ME
Social media finds a higher calling in God Friended Me
The Almighty’s on Facebook? We suspect Satan’s on LinkedIn.
Ideas for TV series often come from the most random places. like what if god asked to friend you on social media? that was the thought that blipped into co-creator bryan wynbrandt’s head as he drove to collaborator steven lilien’s house. the pair, who wrote for alcatraz and Gotham, developed that idea and now it’s a divine dramedy called God Friended Me.
the “me” in this is miles finer (brandon micheal hall), an atheist millennial podcaster, who gets friended by “god”. once he accepts, god suggests he friends actual mortals who will introduce miles to a tangle of perplexing new connections, and cohorts that, depending on your worldview, one could label coincidence – or fate.
“we’ve worked on a lot of shows where it plays in that darker space but what was really exciting for us is to do a show where there wasn’t violence, and the reality of what’s going on in the world,” lilien tells red alert. “to not have that in our show was so refreshing, and to finally have a show where it is more grounded in the emotion and the conflict within these characters versus a crime or violence.”
not unlike a next-gen version of Quantum Leap, every week, miles and his reporter friend Cara (Violett beane) will investigate the story of the newly suggested friend, all the while trying to figure out who, or what, is behind the god account.
wynbrandt says, “right out of the gate, the mythology of the show is strong. but the story turns in a direction that doesn’t take the pedal off the mythology, but changes the way it’s framed. Just like in The X-Files, there’s this ongoing question that shapes the journey for our characters. but it’s not really about the answer to this question as much as it is that journey to get to it.”
of course, social media isn’t the altruistic enterprise it was even five years ago, and wynbrandt says, “we’re not naïve to the world we live in. we want to speak to that in this show but we want to speak to it in a hopeful way. yes, the world is a difficult place and it seems more so now than ever. but there is still good in the world and that’s what this show wants to point out. the show is a catalyst for miles to get out from behind the computer and out helping people. It clearly puts the weight on the human interaction over the social media interaction.” TB
God Friended Me airs on CBs in the us from 30 september. uK broadcast is TBC.
Don’T quote me “I will do what I’m legally obligated to do but Guardians without James gunn Is not what I signed up for.” dave bautista will return as drax – but despite fan and star protests, gunn won’t be back behind the camera.