Netflix Sci-Fi Fantasy Series Expands Your Mind With Astounding Visuals
For every unoriginal Netflix original that fails to find an audience, there’s a diamond hiding in the menus that breaks the mold. The Midnight Gospel is the most unique series available on Netflix, not just today, but likely ever, and if you want to watch something truly original, this is the show to binge. The easiest way to describe the series is that it’s a series of episodes of the podcast The Duncan Trussel Family Hour, playing over psychedelic animations that combine Adventure Time and Rick and Morty.
A Trip Into The Subconscious
The Midnight Gospel centers around spacecaster Clancy Gilroy, who uses a powerful bio-computer to travel across simulations of different planets and realities, interviewing the residents of each for his spacecast. Real interviews from The Duncan Trussel Family Hour, spliced with original dialogue matching the animation, play out over each episode. Discussions range from taking psychedelics, the nature of reality, accepting death, and the benefits of clearing one’s mind for meditation.
The Creator Of Adventure Time Loved The Podcast
Pendleton Ward, the creator of Adventure Time, discovered the podcast through a friend and was immediately hooked. A fan of deep philosophical discussions, Ward reached out to Duncan Trussel and suggested turning it into a cartoon. Trussel turned down the offer at the time, but in 2018, the two started work on what would become The Midnight Gospel.
Influenced By The Best Of Adult Swim
If The Midnight Gospel’s visuals seem familiar, that’s on purpose. Ward and Trussel were heavily influenced by Adult Swim classics Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Space Ghost Coast to Coast, along with the MTV anime AEon Flux. Dan Harmon, creator of Community and Rick and Morty, is Trussel’s best friend and boss, and he has also been a guest on the podcast, episode 572 for those interested, which explains the other notable influence.
The Midnight Gospel Is Not For Everyone
To say that a surreal cartoon playing out underneath deep philosophical discussions is not for everyone would be an understatement. Thankfully, the first episode featuring Dr. Drew Pinsky is a great introduction, and if you enjoy that, you’ll want to binge-watch the rest of the series. It says a lot about The Midnight Gospel that a cartoon about the President holding off a zombie apocalypse while having a conversation about whether there are “good drugs” and “bad drugs” is the show at its most accessible.
Fans Were Left Wanting More
The Midnight Gospel debuted on April 20, 2020 (not a coincidence since it’s Trussel’s birthday and a day that statistically appeals to his fans) to mostly positive reviews, earning a 91 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, with the final episode, “Mouse of Silver,” hailed as the best. Two years later, Trussel informed fans that Netflix had canceled the series after only one season. Instead of being upset over the loss of the show, Trussel and fans have embraced its message and remained positive that it was made in the first place.
A Positive Show That Deals With Heavy Topics
The Midnight Gospel might not be for everyone, but the overall theme of each episode lands on finding beauty in life and the experience of being alive. Episodes about death and loss, particularly “Mouse of Silver” and “Officers and Wolves,” manage to be hopeful and positive by the end. If this sounds interesting, check out The Midnight Gospel on Netflix and The Duncan Trussel Family Hour, wherever you find podcasts.
