The Midnight Gospel Review

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Dylan Hostetter, Reporter

When searching the eternal abyss of Netflix for something to stare at for hours, consider a new show: The Midnight Gospel. The Midnight Gospel was created by Pendleton Ward, known for also creating Adventure Time, and comedian Duncan Trussell, known for the Duncan Trussell Family Hour podcast. Look, before you write this show off, listen to the synopsis: “The Midnight Gospel is the story of Clancy, a spacecaster with a malfunctioning multiverse simulator who leaves the comfort of his extra-dimensional home on the Chromatic Ribbon to interview beings living in other worlds.” Now if that isn’t the weirdest thing you’ve ever heard, then you must be living a crazy life. This show deserves a watch for the synopsis alone in my opinion.

If the synopsis confused you, let’s break it down a little. Duncan Trussell voices the main character, Clancy Gilroy, who records spacecasts (a space-podcast for all you simps out there), uses a multiverse simulator, a kind of advanced virtual reality machine, to interview interesting beings living in different worlds. To add an extra layer of intrigue, most of the dialogue of the show is repurposed from Trussell’s podcast. Behind the guise of quirky animated faces lies the knowledge of doctors, stand-up comedians, reformed ex-cons, and even an occult missionary who speaks about combating the materialistic world. Each episode is packed with interesting visuals and strange storylines interwoven with deep philosophical conversations.

The Midnight Gospel may be one of the weirdest things on television right now. From its trippy visuals to its deep existential conversations, The Midnight Gospel may also be one of my favorite  things on television right now. The show is absolutely absurd, yet it is one of the most intelligent pieces of television out right now. The show’s extreme absurdity does not go to waste, however. Every bit of insane imagery put upon the screen has meaning and relevance to the message that the episode is intending to get across. The show balances these two vastly different tones of seriousness and silliness perfectly.

Every episode of The Midnight Gospel is extremely dense in the best way possible. I’ve had to watch many episodes multiple times before I feel that I’ve completely taken it in. Compared to everything else currently streaming on Netflix, or anywhere else for that matter, The Midnight Gospel is one of the deepest, trippiest joyrides that you can experience. With only eight episodes, the show easily leaves you wanting to see more of Clany’s adventures from the Chromatic Ribbon. With many positive reviews, it seems likely that a second season is on the horizon, which is very exciting. Whether you are just looking for the next thing to binge, or you are looking to expand your intellectual horizons, The Midnight Gospel definitely deserves a watch.