Fix: Non-Potter Radcliffe, Blasphemy, Diverse Cast
Platforms: Amazon Prime
Prime Summary:
Miracle Workers stars Steve Buscemi as God, who is ready to move on to his next project. To prevent Earth’s destruction, low-level angels Craig (Daniel Radcliffe) and Eliza (Geraldine Viswanathan) must answer a seemingly impossible prayer: help two humans fall in love.
FYA Summary:
God has lost interest in his old project, The Earth. He’s much more excited about getting his parents to invest in his restaurant idea, a place where diners float on a lazy river and grab food from a passing buffet. Meanwhile, an angel named Eliza thinks that God should take more interest in the prayers of his creation. God makes her a deal: The Department of Prayer must answer the prayers of two lovestruck, awkward humans who are each too afraid to make the first move. If they should kiss within a two-week deadline, the planet will be spared. If their romance is doomed, so is the human race.
Familiar Faces:
Geraldine Viswanathan as Eliza Hunter
This newcomer nailed it as the idealistic new angel who wants to make a difference and is overcome by the pure incompetence of those around her. She thinks prayers should actually be, you know, answered and finds herself in charge of the fate of the world when God calls her bluff. It doesn’t help that she’s one of the few competent employees in Heaven.
Daniel Radcliffe as Craig Bog
Head of the Department of Prayer since the Stone Age, Craig is content with managing the celestial dead letter office. He’s terrified when Eliza wants to rock the boat, but her enthusiasm is contagious. And he may be crushing on her just a little.
Steve Buscemi as God
A slacker whose dreams far exceed his talent, he relies on his family to fund his harebrained schemes, including the Earth. Now itching to get into the restaurant business, he’s more concerned with exploding Bill Maher’s penis than taking care of his creation. He’s a joke to his employees who run the world in spite of his occasional interference.
Karan Soni as Sanjay Prince
You probably know him as Deadpool’s driver, but he’s God’s flunky in Miracle Workers. He eventually joins Eliza and Craig in their attempt to save the earth. In an amusing scene, the trio rehash their past lives. Eliza was a bad-ass warrior, Sanjay was an incalculably wealthy prince, and Craig…was the guy who lived in the bog to keep a lookout for monsters. In retrospect, there probably weren’t any bog monsters.
Lolly Adefope as Rosie
A competent employee in a badly-run organization, she’s being recruited by better worlds in other universes. But she can’t take a new job until the earth is destroyed. Will she help save the world or forget about the earth like a stain on her resume?
Sasha Compère and Jon Bass as Laura and Sam
Two extremely nerdy people who secretly prayed that they’d get together. In the normal course of action, they’d probably be too shy to make the first move. But with divine intervention, they just might wind up hating each other.
Couch-Sharing Capability: Divine
I had no interest in watching this, but Sandy wanted to and I was shortly hooked. We’ve all had incompetent bosses or felt like we were the only one actually doing any work, and it’s good to know that this situation literally goes all the way to the top. After one episode, I started to get pissy that I’d have to wait a week for the next one to drop.
Recommended Level of Inebriation: Subdued
This is not one of those comedies where you need to drink to make it funnier. In fact, you might consider watching this sober, so you don’t miss any of the jokes (did I mention Bill Maher’s penis explodes?). Radcliffe and Buscemi are backed up by some very talented new faces, along with funny guests like Tim Meadows, Chris Parnell, and Margaret Cho. The show did a good job of not making white the default color when they cast this, allowing people of all races to look foolish and incompetent.
Use of Your Streaming Subscription: Remember the Sabbath
And celebrate it by watching an episode of this show. Season two just dropped, with the same cast and a completely different premise. Watch this space.
Brian, we finally watched this show and you’re right, it’s so adorably cute! I love everyone in the cast. We’re almost done with season 2, which I think I like even better so far, but I’ve been recommending it to everyone I talk about TV with now, haha.