CBS not giving up on “faith-based” entertainment

Posted on by Tom

I have some news about a couple of “faith-based” television shows, one on the way out and one on the way in.

Living Biblically
CBS

I previously reviewed the first eight episodes of “Living Biblically,” which ran on CBS from February through April on Monday nights. The comedy was about Chip, a “lapsed” Catholic, who decides to get serious about his religion and live his life “one-hundred-percent according to the Bible” with “laughable” results. The only redeeming quality of the show, if you could call it that, was that it accurately portrayed Catholicism’s “good people go to Heaven” false gospel.

With the final five episodes still in the can, CBS cancelled the low-rated show in mid-April. However, I’ve just learned that the network will allow the series a “last hurrah” by airing the final five episodes according to the following schedule:

  • Never Let Loyalty Leave You – May 28th
  • Submit to Thy Husband – June 4
  • Thou Shalt Not Covet – June 11
  • It’s Better to Give Than to Receive – June 18
  • David and Goliath – June 25

All of these dates are Mondays and I’m assuming all broadcast times will be at 9:30 p.m. EST as it was previously.

The “Never Let Loyalty Leave You” episode scheduled for this coming Monday, May 28th, looks intriguing. The summary states, “Father Gene is jealous when he finds out that Chip attended Vince’s Baptist church to see another side of religion.” I expect a good dose of “whatever works for you” ecumenism.

Reviews to follow.

Evidently, CBS did not learn its lesson from “Living Biblically” and is coming out with another faith-based comedy show in the Fall titled…

God Friended Me
CBS, Fall 2018 (premier date and time not yet available)

The advertised premise of the new, one-hour show is as follows:

“Brandon Micheal Hall stars in a humorous, uplifting drama about Miles Finer (Hall), an outspoken atheist whose life is turned upside down when he receives a friend request on social media from God and unwittingly becomes an agent of change in the lives and destinies of others around him.”

That’s certainly a wacky premise and I imagine the god that’s presented on this show will be something akin to the New Age, feel-good, false deity that we saw on Roma Downey’s “Touched by an Angel” rather than the God of the Bible. But the Holy Spirit can certainly use a show like this to get people thinking and draw people to the Lord. See the preview video below:

 

 

23 thoughts on “CBS not giving up on “faith-based” entertainment”

    1. I did go out of my way to watch “Living Biblically” and the recent CNN series on the pope (which was actually worthwhile), and I’ll watch this new “God Friended Me” to post about, but I don’t have have any shows that I watch regularly. About 30 minutes before I turn out the lights I do like to lie in bed and just flip through channels and I often stop at TBN or Jimmy Swaggart’s SBN to check out what’s going on among the prosperity gospelers.

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      2. I’m definitely not aligned with the Swaggarts theologically in many respects, but I have to give them credit where credit is due. The music portion of the show is outstanding and, yup, Jimmy can still tickle those ivories at the age of 83.

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  4. It seems CBS notice there is a growing niche for Christian entertainment; but because they are unregenerate what comes out is a warped form of religion and mockery of the truth.

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    1. Yup, I think CBS sees that some religious movies have been successful and want to tap that market. As you said, they’re not going to come anywhere near the Gospel.

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    1. The Lord used The Exorcist and The Omen to kindle my interest in the Bible and the Gospel so He can use these shows also, as shaky as they may be theologically.

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  6. Reblogged this on excatholic4christ and commented:

    Ten days ago, I posted that CBS had reversed its previous decision and would be broadcasting the remaining five episodes of the un-Biblical comedy, “Living Biblically” (see original post below). I was actually looking forward to critiquing the remaining episodes, especially “Never Let Loyalty Leave You,” which was supposed to air last Monday, May 28th. In that installment, main character, Chip, a Roman Catholic attends a Baptist church service and makes his priest pastor jealous. Lots of blogging fodder I’m sure.

    Well, last Monday I tuned to CBS at 9:30 p.m., but there was no “Living Biblically.” Instead there was a rerun of “NCIS New Orleans.” Huh? I checked different internet sites and it appeared that the 28th might have been a blooper and that CBS was still planning on showing the remainder of “Living Biblically,” at least through June 25th. However, yesterday I googled the show once more and the website, The Futon Critic, posted on June 1st (see here) that CBS had reversed itself again and would be not be showing the remainder of “Living Biblically.” If the last-five, unbroadcasted episodes ever showed up on Amazon, I’d probably watch them because I’m a bit of a completist, plus I’m sure I’d have plenty more things to criticize…er, I mean write about. I’ll say it again. If the show had any redeeming quality it was that it accurately portrayed Catholicism’s “good people go to Heaven” false gospel.

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