The Boys vs Righteous Gemstones: Which Does Christian Satire Better?

Indexado: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]Hi everybody. I we got a fun episode for you. But before we get into that, for those of you who don't know, this is my spouse Beecher. They're also a filmmaker and they actually are a professor, so they teach film making. And if you watch any sort of media in our house, this one right here loves to dissect it.

[00:00:22]>> Yes. Usually it goes we watch a movie or a TV show and I'm really if I'm really engaged with it afterwards I want to spend an equal amount of time that we just spent watching the movie talking about the movie and April is a good sport and she puts up with it and then I go to my classes and I talk my students ears off. Um but every once in a while I say some things that are worthy enough for April to say maybe we can make a YouTube show about this.

[00:00:48]>> Well I am trying to build my YouTube.

[00:00:50]I'm like, "Hey, that that's good content." Um, and I'm like, "You know what? I'm going to hear Veer talking about this anyway." And we've actually talked about what we're talking about >> today.

[00:00:59]>> Absolutely.

[00:01:00]>> A lot. So, we'll just dive right into I do want to clarify, though. Not only am I a good sport, but I actually also used to do a movie review podcast.

[00:01:09]>> Yeah. That's when you were a baby podcaster.

[00:01:11]>> Yeah. My very first co-hosting podcast gig ever was literally just reviewing and talking about whatever new movie was out that week. and she became known for defending Dark Phoenix. That if you f if you listen to that podcast all uh that was what she was known for. It's the the hill she died on.

[00:01:28]>> I did die on that hill. And for the record, I agreed that it wasn't a great film, but it deserved better than what like 20% on Rotten Tomatoes.

[00:01:35]>> I'm convinced you just liked it because it had a very powerful red head as the lead and you're just like totally in cuz that's that's totally >> they just had a lot going against them.

[00:01:43]Anyway, we're not here to talk about Dark Phoenix today. I will talk about any movies anytime. You see me out in public, just bring up a movie and I'll riff.

[00:01:51]>> Okay. Today we are specifically talking about two shows that we started watching. Gosh, was it 2019?

[00:01:58]>> It was.

[00:01:58]>> So, it's been seven years.

[00:02:00]>> Seven years since we first started watching these shows. And interestingly, they both released season 1, episode one, within a few weeks of each other.

[00:02:07]So, we're talking about The Righteous Gemstones and The Boys. And I there might be mild spoilers in this, but we're we're not really talking about the story lines or the plots of these two shows. We specifically want to talk about how both of them talk about and present evangelical Christianity as people that come from an evangelical world who enjoy laughing about the absurdities of our past and odd beliefs and just like weird cringy things that a lot of evangelical churches do. Uh we just want to we just want to dissect it. Um because Righteous Gemstones obviously is more on the nose uh a satire of evangelical Christianity specifically televangelists and The Boys is not really that The Boys and I I do feel like I do need to say we're not recommending that you watch The Boys >> or The Righteous Gymson. Yeah, >> both have a lot of content in it, >> right? But especially The Boys. Like the boys is very violent and like over-the-top violent and it's really just disgusting. It's like disgusting violence and I I just can't recommend it from from a content standpoint.

[00:03:22]>> We both have said that for our tastes we would like for it to be pulled back a little bit. Yeah.

[00:03:27]>> Um but you know, it is what it is. It knows what kind of show it is.

[00:03:31]>> We we watch a lot of stuff. So >> we just do a lot of like Oh no, I'm not looking at that. Oh gosh. That that's kind of our main move, >> right? So, you know what? Should we talk about while we're here? Should we go ahead and talk about this is Righteous Gemstones for the record?

[00:03:44]>> Yes. It follows Righteous Simpsons follows a televangelist family and the father is kind of stepping away and it's a question of who's going to take over the church. Honestly, it's very similar to Succession except set in the televangelist Christian world and it's a comedy or at least tries to be a comedy.

[00:04:07]>> Yeah. So, I think what we'll get into what Righteous Gemstones did well, but I don't I don't know. Should I I just want to say this is very Danny McBride and I think >> Okay. So when we when I first heard of this show, I said, "April, they are making a show called The Right Gemstone is going to I mean we April and I met at Regent University, which was Pat Robertson's university. We know televangelism. April's dad.

[00:04:36]>> I literally worked for I worked for CBN and the 700 Club. So I I've >> and she did call she worked the call center and there's a whole story there.

[00:04:43]She worked a call center raising money for CBN televangelists. Like we were in that world. We know we knew so many people that worked in that world. We know the behind the scenes and April's dad was on like televangelist shows oftentimes like growing up.

[00:04:55]>> TBN 700 Club. Yeah.

[00:04:57]>> So, we know these worlds and we were like, "Oh my gosh, this is going to be amazing. I cannot wait >> and the the opening is pretty amazing.

[00:05:06]>> The opening scene is some of the strongest. I do think Righteous Gemstones get some things right." And I was so hopeful sitting down to watch the show in 2019. And it opens with a baptism in China. It's a 24-hour baptism. I had done 24-hour prayer services before, like it was a thing.

[00:05:24]And >> I feel like I do feel like in Christian culture, like China was this mission field that was very elevated.

[00:05:32]>> The 1047 window, >> it was like, oh, that's that's like legit. Oh, you're like, so I so already like China 24-hour baptism. Oh, it's happening in a wave pool. That's interesting because like, you know, that's that's that's uh it needs to be big enough for that many baptisms. And then about halfway through the the baptisms, the wave pool actually accidentally gets set off and they do with like laser light light light laser show and it starts moving and everyone starts getting splashed around. They're trying to escape the pool during the baptisms. And I thought it was so funny because it just it took something that I knew of evangelical culture and it did something insane and funny with it that you could only do in a show like The Right of Gemstones. You couldn't take this scene and put it in a different comedy. Like it it wouldn't work. And it worked. And I thought, "Oh my gosh, we're in for a wild."

[00:06:23]>> And we had very high hopes. But then was it the same episode? Was it the first episode where there's like this whole kidnapping storyline and like almost like this church mob that is involved and then it just like totally derails and I will say it started to feel much more like hold on where is my my dealio started to feel much more like just your everyday Danny McBride comedies.

[00:06:51]>> Danny McBride does Danny McBride.

[00:06:55]>> Yes. Like I feel like there are some actors that disappear into roles and even Jim Carrey I feel like is one of those actors like he can play he's a comedian. He can play a lot of different diverse roles. Danny McBride you pretty much know what you're going to get.

[00:07:07]Although I did just watch Up in the Air and Danny McBride had a very small character cameo in that and actually is a little bit different character. So I know I think he can do it. But generally when he is in a show he goes for this oh trust me I'll talk about it. He goes for this brand of humor that is very runchy, very inappropriate, very loud, very abrasive, and he plays that same character kind of throughout. And with Eastbounded Down, I didn't watch it much. I watched maybe a couple episodes, but that was kind of his coming onto the scene of like, wow, he's a powerhouse and can hold his own show.

[00:07:41]>> And then you get him in, you know, I mean, Pineapple Express and I love Pineapple.

[00:07:46]>> Yeah. Like, right, but it's a version of Danny Gr even like this is the end. Like I don't mind Danny Bride. Not drawn to him. Funny enough, we saw him Danny McBride at Sundance in 2013. Maybe we gave him the idea for Right Your Gemstones.

[00:07:57]>> I don't know.

[00:07:58]>> I'm sure we did.

[00:07:58]>> Yeah, we can. We'll take we'll take some royalty checks.

[00:08:01]>> And I didn't watch that much, but then Vice Principles, we were watching HBO a lot when Vice Principles came out, probably what, 2014, 2015, and we're like, "Oh, this is interesting." We both went to high school and I was a professor because I was like, "Okay, students like teacher like, "Okay, this is interesting." We watched vice principles and it was just basically eastbounded down. Danny McBride is cussing just as much in the halls of the high school. He's saying awful things to students. And I'm like, any vice principal that ever said this to a student would be fired immediately and he's just ratt rattling them off one by one. And if you remember that, this is a spoiler if you're going to watch Vice Principal. So, just mute the next minute.

[00:08:37]I thought that the drama was going to be about running a school and instead they burn down the principal's house.

[00:08:45]>> They're mad at the principal and they burn down her house. And that was the that was the incident that started the whole storyline of the show. And I'm like, >> so they could have done they could have done anything. They could have been mail working in the mail room or UPS people like it just >> right.

[00:09:02]>> It had nothing to do with high school.

[00:09:04]And so I got very worried very fast at the end of the pilot of Righteous Gemstones when it turned into a kidnapping and hostage situation gone wrong and someone gets run over and >> and this is episode one. So, it's not a spoiler.

[00:09:19]>> It's episode one, right? But also throughout it, Danny McBride is still cussing up a storm, saying really awful, inappropriate things constantly. We were in this world, >> which is funny, but for the most part, that is not realistic in an evangelical world. Most of them are not cussing up a storm. Maybe they are behind the scenes, but as someone who was behind the scenes, we did not cuss.

[00:09:41]>> They aren't.

[00:09:41]>> Yeah.

[00:09:42]>> I mean, maybe every once in a while, but I mean, Danny Bride is every his whole family. It's every other word. and the and I was like this is the same as vice principal is the same he's bounded down and then I wor worried and got very worried because the season turned into a storyline that is much more likely to be on the Sopranos involved um a lot of violence a lot of hostage negotiations a lot of blackmail a lot and it had very little to do with the church one of the only church storylines in the first season was this large church that they own was opening up a satellite campus and one of the pastors played by Dermit Moroni who um we we uh yeah we saw a movie of Sundance with him and it was just sorry it scarred us it scarred us so sorry Dermit um he shows up and it's like hey I'm a pastor in this small community please don't open your satellite campus because it's going to shut our doors and shutter our doors I I'm sorry but like that's never been a like has that been a thing you've ever heard of a pastor in a town you're going to open a satellite campus being like no please or you're going to take all my There's definitely talk about, you know, stealing members of from one church to another church. Like that's conversations that happen, but it's never like it's more, oh, that's unfortunate if that happens. If anything, it's not it's not a begging situation >> and then Yeah. And he was like, sorry, no, we're going to that was like those those were the big story lines they set up and they ran for the whole season.

[00:11:08]There was another season we were watching and the opening scene was or the opening sequence was them going to a NASCAR driver trying to get him to go to their church and they get into another they get into a race on the NASCAR track against other televangelists >> for the allegiance of the NASCAR driver.

[00:11:33]>> And I'm like >> yeah that >> this once again what show is this? What what are you what are you marking? What are you making a teal point about? This just feels like a Danny McBride show, >> which again kind of goes into that. It was just it kind of the most of it to me felt like a Danny McBride show put in the church world >> which our complaint with vice principles was is a Danny McBride show just set in a high school and it wasn't even set mostly in a high school, >> right? Um, I do want to say before we get people mad at us because I do know there are a lot of people that absolutely love that love Righteous Gemstones and I I want to say I actually overall really do love the show. I loved it more than you. Yeah. But I had to not view it so much as like I just had to view it more as a Danny McBride show in a church setting and less like a satirical take on evangelical Christianity because a lot of it I felt like they could have really explored and been absolutely hilarious like faith healings or like the more Pentecostal stuff, the speaking in tongues, the snake handling. Um, like there's so many weird things that happen in evangelical culture, like purity culture, which which they did go through a little bit, which was funny.

[00:12:45]>> Christian nationalism, >> right, which they did. They did. They had moments. They had moments of, I think, brilliant satire. But a lot of that was overshadowed by just the absurdity of a Danny McBride show. But I do want to point out the things that we think >> we do think some things work >> that they got right. And every once in a while, as April said, it was like, "Oh, yeah, that's that's that's that's right on." So, but it was definitely few and far between. It was for me at least.

[00:13:12]>> You you hated on it a little more than than I did. But I want to first say that what is this? Sorry, I'm doing this in real time. The uh God Squad, which is the like muscle team for Jesus. They also had this little this little uh van here.

[00:13:29]>> Yeah. It's a riff. It's a riff on uh some a group that you know pretty well.

[00:13:33]Hi April.

[00:13:36]>> Yes, I do know this pretty well and I'm gonna show it to you. It is a riff off of this group, this real group called the Power Team and they're musclemen for Jesus.

[00:13:48]And so basically they would like go into churches and rip phone books. And >> I saw them they went to a I saw them in a rec center in blue in Blue Ridge, Georgia. And uh yeah, >> they like break backs. They would break cement blocks with their heads.

[00:14:02]>> Bats break backs.

[00:14:04]>> Breaks bats.

[00:14:06]>> Did I I might have said backs.

[00:14:07]>> You're good. I just want to make sure that because I didn't see that show.

[00:14:09]>> Fun fact.

[00:14:12]Fun fact, before I met the love of my life here, I actually dated someone on the power team.

[00:14:19]>> Yeah, obviously April has a type.

[00:14:24]>> Anyway, so I actually thought that when the boys Not the voice. When Righteous Gemstone was talking about the God Squad, it was hilarious. The other thing that I think they got right was the purity culture stuff with Kee.

[00:14:37]>> I love Kee. Ke is such a good character.

[00:14:40]They had this group called Smutbusters that would go in and they would buy out all the sex toys and local sex shops so that other people wouldn't be able to get them. They they they did hit on purity culture a little bit and I and I they took it of course to a really far extreme very fast.

[00:14:57]>> Um I do think that part was funny. Um I enjoyed I enjoyed the the God Squad. I enjoyed the honestly the the Kel Kelvin and Keith story lines were the ones that hit on the God Squad and hit on the >> they were probably my favorite story lines when they were on screen >> because I do feel like they were at least a form of Christianity evangelicalism that I remembered and saw. I really feel like most of our problems and even the dad character um played by played by John Goodman. Yeah.

[00:15:26]I felt like while not funny because he wasn't he was more the straight person in the middle of the comic.

[00:15:31]>> I feel like they actually wrote him pretty well.

[00:15:33]>> I I I know people like him.

[00:15:36]>> I really think our problem was Danny McBride. Like I think like that >> he was just so over the top. It was hard to >> always always even in public eye like I just couldn't like it just couldn't >> Judy was a little over the top sometimes too. I did like Judy and what was her husband's name?

[00:15:51]>> I don't remember.

[00:15:52]>> What was his name? Hold on. I got >> It's a great name.

[00:15:55]>> I'm gonna look it up real quick.

[00:15:57]>> Judy.

[00:15:57]>> Yeah. No, Judy. Judy and her and her spouse were they they were funny. I thought honestly she was like the funniest.

[00:16:04]>> BJ >> she and BJ were the were some of the funniest characters. I do think they didn't really they again didn't really satirize >> evangelical culture very much. They were just funny characters.

[00:16:14]>> To me, it felt like someone wrote a a Danny McBride show that se that like knew enough about evangelical culture like from a distance like maybe watching it to write some funny jokes, but to me it didn't feel like they had a writer on that lived it like very deeply. Um because like for instance like the Keef and um Kelvin storyline, just mild spoiler, they were gay and repressing themselves for like pretty much the whole series until the last season. And then that's like one of the main plot points in the last season. Um and the way that they handled that too, it was very accepting for the most part, but unrealistic.

[00:16:56]>> It was just bizarre.

[00:16:58]>> Yeah. like having having had to leave my church when I came out and said that I like presenting more feminine sometimes like it's it was just it was just it was it was just a little in a way way upsetting because it just did not reflect and make fun of the world that we came from at all. And I understand it's a comedy, so they probably don't want to go to the dark sad place of like how queer people are shunned in these circles, but that also was just like >> it feels it feels a little bit to me like Righteous Gemstones just played it too safe.

[00:17:31]>> Yeah.

[00:17:32]>> They didn't take the dark but funny turns necessary to actually critique the extreme fundamentalist uh views of Christianity. and instead it made something false because they were they were they were yes it had inappropriate sex and drugs and violence and language but it didn't actually say what it needed to say about evangelical culture and I just didn't uh I could never find out if they were figure out if they were really sincere either.

[00:18:03]>> I think that bothered me. They never were clear. We never saw them praying behind behind closed doors, but we also didn't see them dissing God behind doors. It just God was and religion was just kind of like a back a backdrop.

[00:18:16]>> It was a job.

[00:18:16]>> It was just a Yeah, it was just a backdrop for I don't know. Um I will say I think our favorite character >> Yes, I was going to bring it up. My favorite character of the whole show >> say >> baby Billy.

[00:18:29]I mean I will say the the the Bible I I found his character so endearing and his like Bible game show that he came up with was hilarious.

[00:18:39]>> There will come a payday. Hallelujah.

[00:18:41]What a payday.

[00:18:42]>> Well, I knew people like him. I feel like he was well written, too. I mean, he's a little quirky and over the top for sure.

[00:18:47]>> Dangerous.

[00:18:48]>> But I knew people like that.

[00:18:50]>> I enjoyed Tangious. I I just honestly I really feel like the problem was Danny McBride. I never knew if he was sincere.

[00:18:55]I never knew because I really actually did like Baby Billy. So, actually, I'm liking it more the more I talk about it.

[00:19:00]I just want to take the central character and just be like >> I think I think we just know we know evangelical culture so well that we saw so many moments. were like, "Oh, they could have make a joke made a joke about this. They could have like we just felt like they had a lot of missed opportunities that would have been really funny, but I still overall really liked the show, but >> I appreciate moments of it."

[00:19:23]>> I have to say, >> dangerous.

[00:19:26]>> Moving on now to The Boys, which again, we don't we are not officially recommending that you watch the show.

[00:19:32]>> I I don't mind. I'll officially recommend it. April. April gets like >> I just I just the idea of like someone watching it like if you can handle gore and like really intense content >> disturb it's very disturbing.

[00:19:46]>> It's very disturbing very dark. I mean it's kind of it's comedic in moments. I mean it's superhero. So basically if you don't know the boys it is like a more realistic take on what a world would be like if superheroes exist. Like you're talking like a lot of accidental deaths if like the season I think it's episode one. Uh, I don't think this is a spoiler because it's in the very first episode, but they have a flashlight character that's just speedy and very fast and accidentally runs into someone when he's speeding along and like obviously instantly kills her because he's going so fast. And so, it's just like the gritty reality of what a superhero world would look like.

[00:20:23]>> It's based on a comic book that was created by G. inis and it really was as April said created to mock and make fun of the superhero Marvel DC superhero culture. So oftentimes characters and moments in the boys are literally like direct riffs on something that happened with Superman, something that happened with Batman, something that like even some twists that Yeah. So, like even this past season, we were like, "Oh, that's uh they're making fun of Teen Titans." Like, "Oh, that's supposed to be him and that's supposed to be her and that's supposed to be like it's it's very much that's the original idea of the comic book." And it did it affected.

[00:21:05]>> I think Yeah. And if you're squeamish at all, you're not going to like it because I will say they they kill people in very creative ways.

[00:21:11]>> I think we we've said it.

[00:21:13]>> You have warned people enough mad at you. You're terrible now that I've said it. I know. I just don't want someone to be mad because they watch. Well, April Joy recommended it. Um, that being said, this show, The Boys, I have never seen a show satirize. Is it satirize? Is that how you say that word?

[00:21:32]Satarize. Satire.

[00:21:34]I don't know. I think it's satirize.

[00:21:36]That sounds right.

[00:21:36]>> Satize.

[00:21:37]>> I don't think that's right. Anyway, >> hand sanitize.

[00:21:40]>> I have never seen a show that actually does evangelical satire as well as The Boys. Like topnotch. Like I feel like right where Ditus Gemstones observed evangelical culture and then wrote about it. I feel like someone someone on this writing team has to have been a former evangelical.

[00:21:59]>> That's that's the number one thing I think April and I say to each other. And with Righteous Simpson we constantly were saying I don't think anybody actually was in this. I >> know. We kept saying like they need someone from this world. They got to hire us. Come on. They got to hire us.

[00:22:11]And then with this we keep looking at each other go >> somebody in this. someone was like we are like this is getting I mean even in it was uh even in season one we get the Starlight uh >> yeah she they they make fun of the youth culture the youth kind of concert uh >> Believe Expo that's in season one >> with Ezekiel who's this kind of uh youth cool uh you know Christian speaker and I worked I mean I worked summer camps that were I mean just like spitting images of this now you know the obviously the people behind kind of the scenes were not as dark and twisted um as as the show, but I definitely we definitely were early on. We're like, "Okay, there's something here."

[00:22:54]>> Yeah. And we started watching the show, if it was 2019, it would have been right around maybe even right be Yeah. No, we were we had been started deconstructing by then, too. So, like when she she gives this speech at this belief expo in season one and it's all about, you know, getting rid of your dogma and like why are we not practicing what we preach and like loving each other and like really I don't I don't know how to explain it.

[00:23:19]It was it's just so it's it's just brilliant. I don't know.

[00:23:23]They either did their research especially in this most recent >> someone was from that world had to have been.

[00:23:29]>> Yeah. So, uh, this most recent season though, especially, um, of the boys, like they kind of slowly turned up the satire on evangelicalism. And to be clear, it's still a main the main point is superheroes. They're it, but >> it is making fun of superheroes, but I will say I do feel like the earlier seasons made fun of superheroes a little bit more. And you you can even see some writing online like the thing they were mocking because early on they're mocking the multiple franchises of the superhero genre and the multiple spin-offs and how they keep having to add all these characters to keep it relevant. And they make fun of Marvel and DC, but then the show got really popular >> and uh they actually started building their own franchises. Jen V was a spin-off. They're having Vault Rising, which is a spin-off. So, in a weird way, Amazon, who's funding it, is turning it into what it critiqued, and they've kind of had to pull back on it a little bit because they've had to try to tell in interesting stories that have people invested. So, they actually are following somewhat more of the comic book traditional Marvel DC comic book story lines. And so, if you're not not making fun of that and doing satirical take on that, then where do you put the attention? And I feel like this season and last season espec es especially just said all right well hey remember that Ezekiel storyline with the starlight at the youth camp the Christian camp like Christian nationalism's on the rise which if you don't know that there's this great book April move your head >> no yeah there you go it's called star spangled Jesus um you can read all about how Christian nationalism is on the rise um >> it's my book by the way if you >> but it does feel like the past two seasons they were like okay let's lean into this and really really uh point out the idiocy of Christian nationalism and I think they are just doing a nailed job. They this season they added Dave Deved Diggs um who plays this like megaurch pastor type and the way that the the lines that he says are just they know their stuff. The like the way he talks about Christian nationalism uh he even referenced the seven mountains >> which is a reference to the seven mountain mandate. Like that is deep.

[00:25:42]Like you have to know your Christian nationalism and evangelicalism to make that reference. I feel like they referenced something else too.

[00:25:48]>> I mean I saw it with the character of Firecracker. I don't know.

[00:25:51]>> Oh, Firecracker. I'll >> As soon as Firecracker showed up, I was like, "Oh, okay. I see where they're going." The kind of rightwing podcaster, influencer.

[00:26:04]Uh I I kind of saw >> she like has her own it's it almost makes also makes fun of like Fox News like the the talking shows talking head shows on Fox News >> and once they decided to bring her and make her character it was like okay and I think it's interesting I think something that I really really like about the boys and this is in direct >> this is in direct opposition with what I had said uh about Righteous Gemstones.

[00:26:27]The boys does a good job. I think you always know how sincere a character is >> in the show. If a character is doing it for clout, which I having been in those circles, there are people that are playing the system. They know it's not real. They know it's not true, but hey, you got to suck up to the televangelist leader.

[00:26:47]>> They want the power >> because that's how you stay there or else you're going to get killed or cancelled or fired.

[00:26:53]>> And you know those people and they're absolutely represented there. I think Devid Diggs probably would fall in that camp, I think, of of the his character.

[00:27:01]I can't remember what his character's name is. Um, and then you get characters like Starlight who were sincere and they were in it and then they deconstruct and get out and start fighting against it.

[00:27:11]And obviously I think we I think we know a few people that might fit that. And then you get characters like Firecracker who are in it and she really believes, but then she gets snowballs and she kiss just can't look away. she gets too far in it and they do and I'm not going to give any spoilers but they do a really interesting kind of uh episode where they really focus on her storyline and you can see that she is struggling.

[00:27:35]She's in it. She wants to believe. She's having doubts. Maybe she doesn't believe but she has to stay in and that's really interesting. And then once again you get even more characters where and and it's just it's nice because I think having been in those worlds, >> it is not a paintbrush where everyone is out there. Everyone knows this isn't real and they're just using it for leverage. There are absolutely people like like >> it's a spectrum.

[00:27:58]>> It's a spectrum. And there's people like Homelander.

[00:28:01]>> Let me pull up Homelander >> who are >> who are the at the top of these televangelist ministries, >> the guy in the middle.

[00:28:08]>> And I really believe from everything I've know from my interactions with them and mainly the people that work around them, they are so narcissistic. They actually believe they are the chosen one of God above everyone else. And what they say is come straight from God, which is the storyline that Homelander's going going this this season. Yeah. And >> spoiler.

[00:28:31]>> Yeah. And I and I will say I think honestly I mean so we as I mentioned we met at Regent, we met at CBN or she worked for CBN which is Christian Broadcasting Network. Pat Robertson was the televangelist head of that. He was 8 what nine when he when we were there.

[00:28:47]>> He was old >> and >> he's since passed. He since passed >> and the culture there, everyone would be like, "Oh yeah, Pat Robertson said some crazy stuff again. He's kind of losing it." But they would have to whisper it and then to him, they would just have to suck up because if if he got if Pat Robertson got any hint that someone wasn't actually really buying in and believing, next thing you know, they were fired. These were like top co-hosts that were getting more popular than him.

[00:29:16]Fired. Fired. Fired.

[00:29:17]>> Those were the the rumor mills. But I will say when I started working at CBN, I remember telling Beecher, it was so weird that there was such a culture of fear there. Like I I I came in, I was new. I was in my 20s. I had just graduated and I had like this pie in the sky view of the world and just kind of believed the best of the Christian leaders that were on TV. and the amount of people that were just like just scared to to say their own opinions or to go against even if they thought that something was a bad idea, they would just keep it to themselves. And I remember being like this is so weird.

[00:29:52]This is a Christian institution. Why are we so terrified? Like he's just a man.

[00:29:58]>> But anytime we say that, we would get stories of, oh well, I've been there long enough. I remember when this person got fired, this person got heard a lot of stories, this this this. And so it was a culture of very much like where it is with VA right now and in the show if you once again if you but very much like you can see the way people are treating Homelander when he says he's God and you I'm like I recognize this like I I really this is definitely >> say really quick probably once a week I get a comment from someone saying that I look like firecracker.

[00:30:28]>> Oh I've definitely thought I've definitely thought that >> especially when I'm in like my full glam like sketch makeup. Oh, yeah.

[00:30:35]Firecracker is what what you would have would have happened to you if you' never deconstructed. No, I know. I've already thought about this.

[00:30:41]>> Okay. Another thing that's really funny about the boys really quick. Um, this is a longer episode.

[00:30:45]>> Why really quick?

[00:30:47]I'm I love I will I'll probably talk about all of this even once we get done.

[00:30:52]>> I know you're we're going to talk about the rest of the evening. Um, so a lot of people, especially in the last maybe three seasons, including this one, definitely the last two for sure. um they've really upped the mocking of right-wing propaganda and just like right-wing extremism. So like you have your main character um Homelander who is kind of and I don't know if they've officially intended this but he's really like a Trump character and then you have all the people around him that are terrified of him because Homelander could kill someone and and like that if if he just gets mad. Um, but they're too afraid to stick to stand up to him. Like they they it which is very similar to what's happening in the Trump administration when you have all these people that I've heard from sources inside that really do not like Trump from behind the scenes, but would never say so publicly and would never disagree with him to his face or, you know, to like publicly because they're so scared of the ramifications, which is just like what's happening in The Boys. And it's been funny slowly throughout the seasons, conservatives who watch The Boys have like slowly started to realize that they're actually the ones being made fun of.

[00:32:06]>> I don't know how I don't know. It's just wild that it's so slow that they that they >> It's pretty obvious.

[00:32:10]>> It's It seems It seems like it should have been obvious, but um I will say I mean the the the creators of it even say it's getting really really hard to uh you know make satire out of this. they chose a uh you know Jesus storyline where uh you know Homelanders being put in the place of Jesus and the episode came out the week that Trump posted the AI image of him as Jesus healing somebody. So like >> and the same week that there was um that Trump that golden Trump statue that a pastor dedicated literally the week of that episode there was a golden statue of Homelander that I was it in the church? Was that where they put it? Yes.

[00:32:53]>> Yeah. So, and and it's so funny. I literally saw a meme of someone complaining about this season saying that The Boys was literally just stealing from Trump. They wrote this like two years ago.

[00:33:05]>> They wrote it at least a year ago. Yeah.

[00:33:07]At least I mean they probably shot it a year ago.

[00:33:11]>> I mean, maybe not. But regardless, they wrote it before all this Trump stuff happened.

[00:33:15]>> And the creators who even said that that they couldn't have predicted. They were Yeah. They just Yeah. It's like pro They're prophetic in a weird way.

[00:33:23]>> Yeah. But no, I do think it's brilliant the way that um they are approaching it.

[00:33:29]Someone in that writer's room, props to you. If you see this, like reach out, go on April's podcast with her and uh >> Oh my gosh, we would love to talk to you.

[00:33:38]>> We would love Yeah.

[00:33:39]>> I want to know your background. You know, you either have done like insanely good research or you come from this world.

[00:33:45]>> They do. They they absolutely come from this world. So, yeah. No, I I would recommend you watch it. I think it's great. Um, another show that I just want to quickly and we weren't even mentioned talking about this um that does a decent job uh looking at Christian culture from a crit a realistic but kind of critical lens would be beef season one. Um, just mentioning that Steven Yun has a whole storyline where he kind of he's going through a hard time gets connected to a church.

[00:34:12]>> I forgot about that story.

[00:34:14]>> Starts volunteering. The church then starts using him for a lot of other things because you know I mean there's there's and but he has sincere moments and I think >> even there >> you knew where the character was on the emotional sincerity journey >> and I think that is what um >> was lacking in lacking >> I think also it could be >> like for for example I do I do a lot of talks on Christian nationalism uh when I go and talk about wave pools my book star spangled Jesus which is about my time in Christian nationalism and how I left it behind. Available wherever books are sold. Um, but so I'll often go into uh churches or conferences and I give a talk on Christian nationalism. I am also funny or I try to be like that sounded so conceited >> and she's also attractive and she's smart.

[00:35:04]>> You know what I mean? I just like I say I tell jokes.

[00:35:08]>> Just kidding.

[00:35:08]>> Like I my book my book tries to be funny. I I it's very reminiscent of the reminiscent of the content that I make.

[00:35:15]So, there's comedy involved. I just I make jokes self-deprecating, whatever.

[00:35:20]And a lot of people laugh and it and I do think people laugh more so because they're coming to hear a talk about Christian nationalism, they're not expecting to laugh. So, when I tell a joke, it's like, "Oh, haha, that's really funny." And so then I think it Anyway, I I just think they probably think better of my talks because I've made them laugh when they weren't expecting it. And I think that could be whereas I also went and tried standup comedy and I was so terrified because and like way more anxious than when I give my normal talks because people were expecting me to be funny because literally it was a comedy show. And so I think Righteous Gemstones the whole premise of that show is evangelical culture. So I think maybe perhaps some of it is that our expectations were higher for it because that's the whole point of that show. Whereas The Boys, it's a superhero show that they sprinkled really brilliant evangelical satire in. And maybe like I'm wondering if that's also just like a piece of why The Boys does it so much better, too, because no one's expecting that from The Boys. And then when they do it and do it so well, it's like, whoa, >> amazing.

[00:36:25]>> I mean, if Bart's gemstone has pitched itself as a family uh family mafia show and one of the characters happened to be a televangelist, maybe I would have been more accepting of it. I just uh I really want to see a show take the premise of Righteous Gemstones and I mean I mean just even mentioning like >> you want to pitch pitch your story ideas.

[00:36:46]>> I'm not going to say it out loud. But I'll just say there are storylines that have happened at some other kind of televangelist ministries. And not to get into it, but that we've made videos making fun of the family drama between the people that were leading it and then this person died and then this person remarried somebody that's a little wild and there's drama between the family and like like it right there.

[00:37:06]>> Endless content.

[00:37:07]>> Endless content. And so I think it was so frustrating when writes consistently said, "No, we're going to look away from that. We're actually not going to look because I'm like you we we were in these circles. There's you could ride on this >> for five seasons very easily. Um but yeah, some great moments. Right gemstones. Um I think The Boys is is knocking it out of the park.

[00:37:25]>> Um interestingly kind of a lot of people are hating this season of The Boys.

[00:37:28]>> I know. I don't understand it. I'm really liking it, but it might it might be because of the the evangelical >> satire that they're doing. Oh, well, I will say we're recording this on Tuesday. The finale drops tomorrow, so we haven't watched the finale yet.

[00:37:42]>> I know. So, and honestly, a finale can make or break a show. I mean, look at Game of Thrones. So, >> and then I'll end. Can I end with something?

[00:37:51]>> Yeah. End.

[00:37:52]>> If you liked this, I love talking about movies. So, just put in the comments that you enjoyed this and you want more and then give us some recommendations.

[00:38:00]>> Yeah. What show or movie should we watch and >> especially if it had something to do with anything religious, uh, evangelical, like I'm I just I wrote I co-wrote a paper on Conclave recently.

[00:38:10]did >> that just got accepted to a conference and won a top paper award. So, I could I could talk about Conclave if you want to if you want. Anyway, sorry.

[00:38:17]>> Conclave was really good.

[00:38:18]>> And guess what? If you can't stand this, then that's fine. I'll just go start my own YouTube.

[00:38:24]>> Oh, it's fine. We'll just we'll do it every once in a while. I think it's I thought it was fun. If you hate it, just don't tell us.

[00:38:29]>> No, tell us. Be honest. Be honest.

[00:38:31]>> I'm just kidding. You can tell us. Um All right. Well, anything else you want to add? I am excited about the finale. I They better kill Homelander, though. It better be a brilliant death because I mean he's truly terrible. He's I I feel about him the way I feel about Joffrey. No, actually I like Homelander more than Joffrey.

[00:38:50]>> What is so interesting is we've been trained by all the other superhero movies and shows to expect a certain type of ending to a good versus evil type show.

[00:39:00]>> And this this show is meant to flip it on its head. So, I actually in a weird way hope that ending >> is um something that we've never seen before in the superhero show movie genre. And so, yeah, we'll see. We'll see.

[00:39:17]>> We'll see. Maybe we'll do an update on what we thought of the boys.

[00:39:20]>> I'm okay if I'm upset with the finale because >> it was a great ride.

[00:39:24]>> I realize I I don't want it to fit the same Marvel. Okay, last act. Let's do the big CGI fight. Oh, good guy won.

[00:39:31]Good job. But I want the good guys to win though, >> right? Because we've been trained for >> we've also been trained having watched all those stories over and over and over again to expect that. So >> yeah, I just hope it's unexpected.

[00:39:43]>> Expect it because I watched Game of Thrones, but I wouldn't.

[00:39:48]>> Right. So if you want us to talk about Game of Thrones, uh it's been a while since we've watched it. We actually did in the moment. We had a lot of thoughts on it, especially with the guy with the eye patch. We that really resonated with us.

[00:39:59]>> Oh yeah. Anyway, for another day. Thank you for watching and uh until next time.

[00:40:05]Bye.