Miracle Workers - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

The place to discuss TBS' Miracle Workers!

[formerlyfreedom]

Steve Buscemi In, Owen Wilson Out as TBS' Daniel Radcliffe-Led Comedy Miracle Workers Recasts Co-Lead

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TVLine has learned that TBS’ forthcoming heaven-set anthology comedy — starring Harry Potter himself Daniel Radcliffe as a dutiful angel — has recast the role of the Lord Almighty, with Boardwalk Empire‘s Steve Buscemi  stepping in for Owen Wilson.

I think I really like this development. Nothing against Owen Wilson, Daniel Radcliffe was the draw for me here, but I'm excited to see Buscemi in this role.

[formerlyfreedom]

News on the show from TCA, but no premiere date yet...

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When creator Rich was asked at TCA today why [Owen] Wilson left, the EP said, “We just had different creative visions and parted ways, but I’m ecstatic to be with the cast I have here on stage” which included [Daniel] Radcliffe, [Steve] Buscemi, Karan Soni and Geraldine Viswanathan.

[BetterButter]

[formerlyfreedom]

Coming soon!

Created by Simon Rich, who also was behind FXX’s Man Seeking Woman, the limited series premieres February 12 on TBS...

Craig (Radcliffe) is a low-level angel responsible for handling all of humanity’s prayers. His boss, God, pretty much has checked out and is ready to move on to his next project, with the knowledge that “Earth is in big trouble — it’s a mess.” The Almighty’s plan is simply to blow up the planet and move on. To stave of global annihilation, Craig and fellow angel Eliza (Geraldine Viswanathan) must answer a seemingly impossible prayer: help two humans fall in love. Karan Soni plays Sanjay, God’s right-hand man.

 

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S1.E1: Two Weeks

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Frustrated with the mess that earth's become, God contemplates the end while two determined angels try to change his mind.

Original air date: 2/12/19

[ElectricBoogaloo]

TBS has posted the first episode on their official YouTube channel!

[Frost]

I enjoyed it.  It wasn't fabulous.  I'm not sure I'm down with God being a complete nitwit that has to be managed by his majordomo as a premise.  It doesn't seem as clever as maybe the show's creator thinks it is.  I did like Craig removing one snowflake at a time in order to reveal the lost keys.  

[Anela]

I don't believe in god, so I won't mind that. I haven't watched it yet, I just looked up the forum, for when I do. 

[tennisgurl]

"Please let everyone just chill out in Twitter..." I think that was one of mine 😉 

Its no The Good Place, as far as existential heavenly comedy goes, but i will see where it goes from here. 

[Tom Holmberg]

Reminded me a little of the play "Steambath", where God is a Puerto Rican steambath attendant, who does all kinds of horrible things to people, then brings nice weather to Puerto Rico (he must have been sleeping during the hurricane, though).

[possibilities]

In my mind, that's not GOD, it's just the CEO of God, Inc. That makes the premise more tolerable for me.

Also, I amuse myself by calling it "Touched By A Bureaucrat"

Edited February 15, 2019 by possibilities

[roamyn]

My favorite part was at the beginning in the Bereau of Volcanoes, when the alarm goes off and the workers look around, then continue drinking their coffee!

[Skyfall]

I found it enjoyable!

[possibilities]

I laughed at the Bill Mahar story this week-- not the specifics, just that he was the target.

This God is a petty, checked out, mofo, isn't he? I can't decide if he's torturing the executive on purpose, or testing him, or what. Either way, he doesn't seem to care at all about collateral damage or really anything anymore. He's just bored and irritable, kind of a burned out apathetic deity, apparently.

The unintended consequences of, and tension between reckless destruction on the one hand, and timid lack of urgency on the other (with the two miracle workers) is... well, I'm right on the fence with this story. It has elements I like, but it's skating very close to being too much of a double header rom com cliche.

[Frost]

I'm basically watching for Daniel Radcliffe at this point.  It's odd, I don't look to TV shows to provide a message for me, but for some reason when I watch I do wonder, "What's the point of this show?"  There are some laugh out loud moments, but no through line somehow to hold the episode together.  I did like the Genitalia workers proudly standing together and refusing to blow up something they considered beautiful.

[possibilities]

9 hours ago, Frost said:

I did like the Genitalia workers proudly standing together and refusing to blow up something they considered beautiful.

That was a great moment.

Also: "We're not the anus department!"

Edited February 21, 2019 by possibilities

[Morrigan2575]

17 hours ago, possibilities said:

The unintended consequences of, and tension between reckless destruction on the one hand, and timid lack of urgency on the other (with the two miracle workers) is... well, I'm right on the fence with this story. It has elements I like, but it's skating very close to being too much of a double header rom com cliche.

I know nothing beyond what I watch on the show but, my guess is that will be the Earth Saving Miracle not, the 2 humans.

I don't like Elizabeth. She comes off (to me) as very selfish centered it's all about making her feel important.

Craig is very timid but, he really cares about humans and tries to help/do good (without hurting people). 

I like God, he's a dick but that's actually in character.

[roamyn]

10 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

I like God, he's a dick but that's actually in character.

This is the God I could see sending down seven plagues to Egypt, just to see what happens.

[tennisgurl]

23 hours ago, possibilities said:

Also: "We're not the anus department!"

"We have integrity!" 

God wanting to smite Bill Mahar by making his dick explode because he annoyed him is just such a weird plot, but...it certainly does make sense for this petty, totally checked out version of god. 

11 hours ago, roamyn said:

This is the God I could see sending down seven plagues to Egypt, just to see what happens.

Oh yeah. I can also see this god making Abraham think he has to sacrifice his son, then be like "hold on, just fucking with ya Abe. You can just make lamb chops instead!"

[ae2]

On 2/13/2019 at 10:26 AM, Frost said:

I enjoyed it.  It wasn't fabulous.  I'm not sure I'm down with God being a complete nitwit that has to be managed by his majordomo as a premise.  It doesn't seem as clever as maybe the show's creator thinks it is.  I did like Craig removing one snowflake at a time in order to reveal the lost keys.  

At first I thought we were going to get Depressed God, which I think is much more interesting than what we got, which is Idiot Slob God.

He's definitely an Old Testament God, which is probably good, but I feel it's going to be tough to sell Idiot Slob Old Testament God as any sort of sympathetic character.

But it's dark comedy, so who cares?

Radcliffe's character is fascinating, but I wish they would make him more the central character than Geraldine Viswanathan's Eliza, who is too much a straight sitcom caricature. (And let's be real, most people are tuning in for Radcliffe or Buscemi.)

At the end of the season/show do we get a Men In Black style zoom out, where we discover the behind the scenes corporation that runs every little detail of Heaven Inc.?

[Phishbulb]

1 hour ago, ae2 said:

At the end of the season/show do we get a Men In Black style zoom out, where we discover the behind the scenes corporation that runs every little detail of Heaven Inc.?

I was wondering if the new guy who showed up at the end of the second episode (thwarting Radcliffe and Viswanathan's goals) is maybe the devil in disguise. If this turns out to be the case, I'll pat myself on the back for figuring this out I guess.

[ae2]

33 minutes ago, Phishbulb said:

I was wondering if the new guy who showed up at the end of the second episode (thwarting Radcliffe and Viswanathan's goals) is maybe the devil in disguise. If this turns out to be the case, I'll pat myself on the back for figuring this out I guess.

That didn't even occur to me! It's a good possibility he is the devil, or that Hell LLC (HeLLC?) is down there manipulating things the same way.

Though if we're throwing out possibilities, I'll hedge my bets and guess the Devil in Disguise is either God himself, or his other personal assistant who has been visibly prominent and hasn't done much yet, but may be subtly pushing the right buttons to make things happen according to her plan.

[possibilities]

It really is strange that they have the other assistant but she never does anything. She has to be more than meets the eye, because why else would they pay for an actor to show up in every episode if they're not going to do anything with her?

[Morrigan2575]

On 2/22/2019 at 3:08 PM, Phishbulb said:

I was wondering if the new guy who showed up at the end of the second episode (thwarting Radcliffe and Viswanathan's goals) is maybe the devil in disguise. If this turns out to be the case, I'll pat myself on the back for figuring this out I guess.

I'm going to take it one step further. He's the devil or a minion of the Devil working for God. Old Testament, Lucifer was God's arbiter, testing human's devotion to God.

God's a dick, he's definitely not going to play fair.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S1.E3: 12 Days

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A troublesome human complicates Craig and Eliza's plan, while Sanjay attempts to burnish his credentials.

Original air date: 2/26/19

[Dewey Decimate]

I've been thoroughly enjoying this show. I love Steve Buscemi's doofus-y God, and couldn't stop laughing at the Bill Maher take-down. (I'm a casual atheist myself, but cannot stand that smug prick. Or exploded prick, as the case may be.) Daniel Radcliffe is adorable, and I like that other than DR and SB, almost all the other main characters are PoC.

[Matt K]

I'm really loving this show,  I can't imagine Owen Wilson in Buscemi's place (Luke Wilson maybe) and the rest of the cast is great.  I'm especially happy to see Karan Soni starting to get some nice roles.  Geraldine Viswanathan is pretty great as well and so is Daniel Radcliffe.  I'm really looking forward to all of them interacting in the upcoming episodes.  

As for the god vs God thing (it was in the preview for upcoming episodes), 

Spoiler

At the end of the 1st episode it showed upcoming scenes and we see god with his parents who are very disappointed in him (great scene btw).  So he's definitely not the God.

Edited February 27, 2019 by Matt K

[possibilities]

1 hour ago, Matt K said:

I can't imagine Owen Wilson in Buscemi's place

Was that the original plan?

God liked the string guy!?

[Matt K]

28 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Was that the original plan?

God liked the string guy!?

Apparently.  It's mentioned at the top of the thread.  Owen Wilson seems like such a weird choice.  Playing such a sad sack character is not really his forte, especially one who is supposed to be unlikable.  Luke Wilson may have been able to pull it off but Steve Buscemi excels in this type of role.  Hard to believe he wasn't the first choice.  

[chitowngirl]

This is advertised as a limited series-any idea how many episodes there are going to be?

[possibilities]

I'm not sure how many there are. But I did see Radcliffe being interviewed and he said that they conceived it as an anthology series, so that if it gets renewed he wouldn't play the same character year after year. That's part of why he was interested in signing on-- if it ran a long time, it would stay fresh.

[Phishbulb]

15 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

This is advertised as a limited series-any idea how many episodes there are going to be?

There are seven episodes:

http://thefutoncritic.com/showatch/miracle-workers-tbs/listings/

[SmithW6079]

Has anyone ever seen Daniel Radcliffe in the daylight? Because the dude is vampire white.

I'm kind of liking the show. I wish Daniel's character wasn't quite so meek, but I like that the d-bag assistant to God helped them out and looks to be part of the team going forward. 

And I'm liking the nerd couple. I have a soft spot for when lonely, unconventional-looking people find love.

[possibilities]

I think the woman they are trying to get to hook up with the "related miracle" guy is gorgeous. I don't know why she's shy and insecure, and I really need more backstory to find it credible. There could certainly be reasons, but they really haven't given us any development of her or the designated kisser as characters at all.

I can't remember anyone's name on this show.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S1.E4: 6 Days

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Craig helps God recruit a prophet while Sanjay heads to the basement to help save Earth.

Original air date: 3/5/19

[Tom Holmberg]

On ‎2‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 11:41 PM, possibilities said:

I think the woman they are trying to get to hook up with the "related miracle" guy is gorgeous.

She's "TV plain" -you know, where they take off their glasses and undo their bun and suddenly they are beautiful. 

I like the cast, but I think it suffers in comparison to "The Good Place."

[Frost]

I felt badly for Craig until I saw him squatting on the floor when I spotted an actual chair back up against the wall behind him.  At that point, he was just wallowing!   Sure Sanjay and Eliza were acting like jerks, but he didn't actually need to be a doormat.   Although I haven't been able to sit/squat like that since I was a child so kudos to Daniel Radcliffe!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S1.E5: 3 Days

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Rosie meets with a competitor while Craig, Eliza, and Sanjay try to dupe God.

Original air date: 3/12/19

[SmithW6079]

On 3/6/2019 at 4:23 PM, Frost said:

I felt badly for Craig until I saw him squatting on the floor when I spotted an actual chair back up against the wall behind him.  At that point, he was just wallowing!   Sure Sanjay and Eliza were acting like jerks, but he didn't actually need to be a doormat.   Although I haven't been able to sit/squat like that since I was a child so kudos to Daniel Radcliffe!

Wasn't he flashing back to when he was a caveman, protecting his tribe from  the bog monster?

[Skyfall]

15 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

Wasn't he flashing back to when he was a caveman, protecting his tribe from  the bog monster?

That whole thing killed me!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S1.E6: 1 Day

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God meets with potential investors for his groundbreaking new restaurant.

Original air date: 3/19/19

[cynicat]

I'm really enjoying this show too.  Steve Buscemi is awesome as god, and I loved that he was illiterate in this past episode.  Just when you think he's an evil dick, turning people into beans when they displease him, bam, not true.

They seem to be taking their time with character development, which is refreshing. 

[SmithW6079]

I'm watching, but I find myself disappointed in the show -- or at least how marginal Daniel Radcliffe's character is. I started watching for him, but he could be any minor actor who plays milquetoast characters.

I appreciated the focus on Rosie, but I didn't like that Eliza declared herself the leader of the team. If Rosie had to go through all of that to be God's executive assistant, what did Sanjay have to do? 

[chitowngirl]

I’m liking this show, but it seems like one that begs to be binge watched.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I loved the casting for God's family! Chris Parnell, Margaret Cho, and Tituss Burgess were all great. I also loved the descriptions of Turd aka Earth.

Brother: Explain cows.
God: I don't want to do this anymore.
Brother: Tell mom and dad what a cow is.
God: It's like a big dog you can drink from.
Mom: And what's a dog?
God: A small cow you can be friends with.
Brother: Tell them about giraffes. What's a giraffe?
God: It's just a tall dog with-
Sister: LOUDER. Speak up.
God: Tall dog with a leg for a neck.
Dad: Are these real animals? You made all these things? This is what you did with the four grand we gave you?
God: That's it. I'm done. I'm not talking about this anymore.
Brother: We're almost finished. Explain your pièce de résistance. Explain humans.
God: Oh, come on, Ricky, just stop it. You made your point.
Brother: These creatures live on his planet.
Sister: But only on the surface because he forgot to build the middle so the inside is just fire.
Brother: These humans are born nude. Like, fully naked.

[Skyfall]

I wish he had explained cats. ”It’s an asshole dog.”

[possibilities]

On 3/6/2019 at 3:12 PM, Tom Holmberg said:

I like the cast, but I think it suffers in comparison to "The Good Place."

That's true for almost every show.

I love that Earth was built for $4000.

[tennisgurl]

I love that apparently every animal is just a variation on a dog. And that the Earth only cost $4,000! I mean, it explains a lot. 

Gods family is Chris Parnell, Margaret Cho, and Tituss Burgess! Yeah, that sounds about right. And he went against the grain and gave humans free will! And forgot to finish the planet and made the middle part just fire!

[mammaM]

Full disclosure: I love Love LOVE Margaret Cho. I'd watch her read the phone book 😁. And the little looks her and Chris Parnell kept giving each other when God was making his pitch were wonderful. And then adding Tituss Burgess (who btw, looked really sharp in that suit) to the mix was just genius, "tell them about giraffes".

And at the end when God was yelling at his family, if they can't appreciate a world with a giraffe "tall dog with a leg for a neck", brilliant.

He's the youngest, mom and dad spoiled him 😉