X
- 2020
- TV-MA
- Netflix
- 2020
- TV-MA
- Netflix
Summary Podcaster Clancy is forced to leave his home to interview beings in other worlds after his multiverse simulator malfunctions in this adult animated series co-created by Pendleton Ward and Duncan Trussell.
Created By: Duncan Trussell, Pendleton Ward
- 2020
- TV-MA
- Netflix
- 2020
- TV-MA
- Netflix
The Midnight Gospel
Season 1 Premiere: Apr 20, 2020
82
7.9
Where to Watch
Summary Podcaster Clancy is forced to leave his home to interview beings in other worlds after his multiverse simulator malfunctions in this adult animated series co-created by Pendleton Ward and Duncan Trussell.
Created By: Duncan Trussell, Pendleton Ward
Where to Watch
All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
82
88% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
82
88% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Gospel's not for kids, but it reflects the ecstatic innovations that made Adventure Time such a trip. Ward directs every episode and finds moments of religious astonishment alongside gloopy horror, all of it served with chatty humanism and palpable sweetness. ... The result is a new kind of masterpiece: easy to like, easier to worship.
It is an ambitious, extraordinary, dreadful, beautiful thing.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 124 User Ratings
7.9
82% Positive
102 Ratings
102 Ratings
4% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
14% Negative
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 124 User Ratings
7.9
82% Positive
102 Ratings
102 Ratings
4% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
14% Negative
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
Absolutely must see. Stunning dance of visual imagination and profound conversations.
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This show is like 2 shows in each episode. Chose to listen to the dialogue and you'll get an interesting conversation about death, life, and everything in between. Chose to watch the chaos on the screen and you'll have some pretty fun and trippy visuals. It's a masterpiece.
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Every episode approaches sophisticated ideas while stuffing them into an astonishing psychedelic cartoon, so that “The Midnight Gospel” forces you to push beyond the distractions of its many moving parts and appreciate the substance at its core. The resulting trippy sci-fi adventure is a feast for the eyes and mind at once.
It can be legitimately transcendent at times – Ward has so much creative energy that the frames burst with detail and Trussell is a great podcaster in terms of how much he truly engages with his subjects. It can also be damn overwhelming. I don’t recommend binging all eight because the onslaught of new age ideas and hyperactive visuals can be a bit much to take consecutively.
It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but The Midnight Gospel is fascinatingly strange, and if you listen to what is actually talked about, you may come away with some insight into the human condition.
While there’s plenty of merit being preached in The Midnight Gospel, I don’t find the delivery method of its sermon particularly convincing, digestible, or enjoyable. But, hey, as someone who watched the show stone-cold sober, your religious mileage may vary.
The Midnight Gospel lets Ward go nuts without any network censors or content restrictions, and the team over at Titmouse absolutely runs with it. So while the combination of creative talent behind the scenes is a winner, this new series is likely only going to appeal to the Adult Swim crowd.
Definitely not what I was expecting but the down to earth, genuine conversations paired with the insanity of the animation are captivating. Its not adult Adventure Time, but it is a show worth watching.
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Full of trippy, psychedelic imagery that you will find either super imaginative or just silly and random with interviews you will either think are deep or are the writers waxing on or preaching about their own personal philosophies. This is a really decisive show and it really depends on the individual if you’ll like it. Ask yourself, do you find listening to listening to a podcast about the meaning of deep topics like life and love with brightly coloured and nearly random imagery in the background interesting or pretentious? Because that will tell you if you’ll like this show or should give it the pass.
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Hm... Definitely do not get the hype. The Midnight Gospel is weird but not in a good way. It seems that Pendleton is overcompensating for doing a kids show previously by making an overly unnecessarily violent and obscene cartoon to convey some kind of "message".
I get they're trying to do the 'Creature Comforts' style of real interviews to animation but it just comes off as overly pretentious and, more to the point, is just dull spiel that serves no purpose other than making the visual aspect feel like filler.
Other than the excellent character design and animation, which I would expect from Pendleton Ward, it feels very much like an "edgy" student project with shock for the sake of it and shallow rambling.
As a a cartoon enthusiast I'd thoroughly recommend giving it a miss..
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If you expect some fun loving adventures with quirky ideas and commentary on things, exposing new ideas and making you think -- look elsewhere -- unless you're high. Midnight Gospel has a market and Adventure Time viewers are likely not the same one. The bulk of Adventure Time viewers were not the "stoned to watch it" as the 10 season arch had wacky adventures but deep lore and character development. With heavy marketing surrounding Pendleton Wards Adventure Time as a leap off point it's quite the misdirect. While review outlets praise it for it's trippiness and in depth discussions, if you're not watching it high it feels more like asking "why does pizza come in a square box if it's round and all the pieces are little triangles". If you're not stoned these answers are simple. And that's what Midnight Gospel is. A show to watch if and only if you're likely high and want to ask questions no deeper than round pizza in square box. Basically a show that could have been awesome if not a weak stoner source material with as much depth as a sheet of paper. I've never listen to Duncan Trussell's podcast which served as in inspiration and thus not the demographic. This reinforces that I'll likely not listen to his podcast (or I will just to test) because if it is like this it's just surface level what ifs.
Poor stoner writing aside, it still falls down. The main character development is weak to non-existant in some episodes. It's hard to develop a character when their words and the actions are so disconnected (another stoner appeal mechanism). Ricky Gervais Animated HBO show did the concept better because the animated segments related and highlighted what was happening -- it added comedy, context, misdirection, surprise but you knew it was just that on top of the podcast. Midnight Gospel is throwing a misdirect so that the discussion and the visual art are unrelated which means you have to try and follow two unrelated stories -- one visual and one auditory. Not a connecting thread between them.
So if you're stoned it's going to feel interesting and trippy and soooo meta. Midnight Gospel for the non-stoners might well be improved if you watch it with audio off, and then later listened to it. It might actually get better with subtitles re-written for the actual story.
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Production Company:
- Lighthouse Studios
- Netflix
- Nintendo
- Titmouse
Initial Release Date: Apr 20, 2020
Number of seasons: 1 Season
Rating: TV-MA
Awards
Annie Awards
• 1 Nomination
International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA)
• 1 Nomination
