Hand of God (TV series)

Last updated
Hand of God
HandOfGodS2.png
Title screen from season two
Genre
Created byBen Watkins
Starring
Opening theme"An Honest Man", performed by Fantastic Negrito
Country of origin United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes20 (list of episodes)
Production
Production location Los Angeles
Running time45–66 min [1]
Production companies
Original release
Network Amazon Prime Video
ReleaseAugust 28, 2014 (2014-08-28) 
March 10, 2017 (2017-03-10)

Hand of God is an American drama streaming television series created by Ben Watkins. The premiere episode is one of two drama pilots that Amazon streamed online in August 2014, along with Hysteria. Viewers were allowed to offer their opinions about the pilot before the studio decided whether or not to place an order for the entire series. [2] In October 2014, Hand of God was ordered to full series by Amazon Studios. [3]

Contents

The series officially premiered on September 4, 2015. A second season was ordered in December 2015, which premiered on March 10, 2017. [4] On September 15, 2016, Amazon Studios announced that the series would end after the second season. [5]

Plot

Hand of God follows Pernell Harris (Ron Perlman), a corrupt judge who suffers a breakdown and believes that God is compelling him onto a path of vigilante justice. He becomes a member of a church called Hand of God, which proves to be a dangerous cult.

Cast

Main

Recurring

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
1 101August 28, 2014 (2014-08-28)
9September 4, 2015 (2015-09-04)
2 10March 10, 2017 (2017-03-10)

Season 1 (2014–2015)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
11"Pilot" Marc Forster Ben WatkinsAugust 28, 2014 (2014-08-28)
22"Your Inside Voice"Marc ForsterBen WatkinsSeptember 4, 2015 (2015-09-04)
33"Contemplating the Body" Richard J. Lewis Ben Watkins & Daniel TuchSeptember 4, 2015 (2015-09-04)
44"He So Loved" Sarah Pia Anderson Becky Hartman EdwardsSeptember 4, 2015 (2015-09-04)
55"Welcome the Stranger" Ernest R. Dickerson Sam FormanSeptember 4, 2015 (2015-09-04)
66"For the Rain to Gather" Andrew Bernstein Deborah SchoenemanSeptember 4, 2015 (2015-09-04)
77"A Bird in Hand" Peter Medak Teleplay by: Mark Hudis
Story by: Mark Hudis & Ali Garfinkel
September 4, 2015 (2015-09-04)
88"One Saved Message" Mario Van Peebles Ben Watkins & Ben Cory JonesSeptember 4, 2015 (2015-09-04)
99"A Flower That Bees Prefer" Stephen Williams Theresa Rebeck September 4, 2015 (2015-09-04)
1010"The Tie That Binds" Brad Anderson Ben WatkinsSeptember 4, 2015 (2015-09-04)

Season 2 (2017)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
111"Gathering Dust" Mario Van Peebles Ben Watkins & Jim Dunn March 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)
122"Telling Me Your Dreams"Peter MedakBen Watkins & Sam Ernst March 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)
133"We Can't Go Back" Christine Moore Michael Angeli March 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)
144"Not Writing a Love Letter" Sarah Pia Anderson Daniel TuchMarch 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)
155"I See That Now" Ali Selim Shernold EdwardsMarch 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)
166"What Do You Hear..." Stephen Surjik Dawn Kamoche & Ariella BlejerMarch 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)
177"When You Pull the Trigger" Tim Hunter Teleplay by: Ben Watkins & Michael Angeli
Story by: Michael Kastelein & Chris Wu
March 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)
188"The Last Thing Left" Kate Woods Jim DunnMarch 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)
199"What a Man Can Be"Peter MedakSam ErnstMarch 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)
2010"He Must Be"Ben WatkinsBen WatkinsMarch 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)

Reception

The series has received mixed reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 44 out of 100 based on 19 critics reviews, [6] and an 8.2/10 from IGN. [7] The average rating on TV.com is 8.3 out of 10 based on 33 ratings. [8]

Emily VanDerWerff of Vox called the show "mind-bogglingly bad". [9] Mike Hale of The New York Times wrote that it "loses its focus" and that it feels "attenuated and static". [10] Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times gave the series a negative review, writing that it had great acting but "little else". [11] David Sims of The Atlantic wrote that the climax of the series didn't "justify 10 depressing hours of television". [12] In contrast, Robert Rorke of the NY Post called the show "oddly compelling", [13] while Tirdad Derakhshani of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "It's such an engaging, original, quirky, and thought-provoking drama, it should be seen." [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Perlman</span> American actor (born 1950)

Ronald Perlman is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in Quest for Fire (1981), Salvatore in The Name of the Rose (1986), Vincent in the television series Beauty and the Beast (1987–1990), for which he won a Golden Globe Award, One in The City of Lost Children (1995), Johner in Alien Resurrection (1997), Hellboy in both Hellboy (2004) and its sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), Clay Morrow in the television series Sons of Anarchy (2008–2013), Nino in Drive (2011) and Benedict Drask in Don't Look Up (2021). As a known collaborator of Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro, he's had roles in the del Toro films Cronos (1993), Blade II (2002), Pacific Rim (2013), Nightmare Alley (2021), and Pinocchio (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natalie Zea</span> American actress (born 1975)

Natalie Zea is an American actress known for her performances on television. Zea began her acting career in theatre. Her first major role was on the NBC daytime soap opera Passions (2000–2002), where she played the role of Gwen Hotchkiss. Her breakout role was on the ABC primetime soap opera Dirty Sexy Money as socialite Karen Darling, where she starred from 2007 to 2009. Zea also has made many guest appearances on television, starred in a number of independent and made-for-television movies, and had recurring roles in The Shield, Hung, Californication, and The Unicorn.

Laura Regan is a Canadian actress. She has had leading and supporting roles in the films Saving Jessica Lynch (2003), My Little Eye (2002), They (2002), Dead Silence (2007), and Atlas Shrugged: Part III (2014). She had a recurring role as Jennifer Crane in the TV series Mad Men and starred as Agatha on Minority Report (2015).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Lawrence</span> American actress (born 1961)

Sharon Elizabeth Lawrence is an American actress. From 1993 to 1999, she starred as Sylvia Costas in the ABC drama series, NYPD Blue. The role garnered her three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, and Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. She received three additional Emmy Awards nominations for her later television performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Morris</span> English actor (born 1983)

Julian David Morris is an English actor. After appearing in the British television series The Knock (1996) and Fish (2000) during his teenage years, he had his first starring role in the American slasher film Cry Wolf (2005). He subsequently had supporting roles in the thriller Donkey Punch (2008), the historical drama Valkyrie (2008), and another slasher film Sorority Row (2009).

<i>Haven</i> (TV series) American/Canadian television series

Haven is a supernatural drama television series loosely based on the Stephen King novel The Colorado Kid (2005). The show, which dealt with strange events in a fictional town in Maine named Haven, was filmed on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, and was an American/Canadian co-production. It starred Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant, Nicholas Campbell and Eric Balfour, whose characters struggle to help townspeople with supernatural afflictions and protect the town from the effects of those afflictions. The show was the creation of writers Jim Dunn and Sam Ernst.

"Pilot" and "Chapter Two" is the two-hour pilot episode of the NBC legal drama The Firm. The episode is set ten years after the John Grisham's 1991 novel and its 1993 film adaptation. It aired on January 8, 2012, as a two-hour series premiere.

<i>Transparent</i> (TV series) American comedy drama television series

Transparent is an American comedy-drama television series created by Joey Soloway for Amazon Studios that debuted on February 6, 2014. The story revolves around a Los Angeles family, the Pfeffermans, and their lives after learning that their parent is a trans woman named Maura. Transparent tells the story of Maura's coming out, as well as her family's personal journeys in discovering their own identities and coming to terms with Maura's identity. Transparent moves away from a solely transition-centred narrative and represents Maura's story in her role as a trans parent, grandparent, professor, partner, ex-spouse, sibling, and as an older person transitioning. Transparent also includes other queer representation in the Pfefferman family. Sarah explores her sexuality and works through relationship dilemmas throughout season one while Ali explores their gender and sexuality. Transparent's first season premiered in full on September 26, 2014, and its second season on December 11, 2015, third season on September 23, 2016, and fourth season on September 21, 2017.

<i>Bosch</i> (TV series) American drama television series

Bosch is an American police procedural streaming television series produced by Amazon Studios and Fabrik Entertainment starring Titus Welliver as Los Angeles Police Department detective Harry Bosch. The show was developed for Amazon by Eric Overmyer, and the first season takes its inspiration from the Michael Connelly novels City of Bones (2002), Echo Park (2006), and The Concrete Blonde (1994). It was one of two drama pilots that Amazon streamed online in early 2014, and viewers offered their opinions on it before the studio decided whether to place a series order. The seventh and final season was released on June 25, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingsley Ben-Adir</span> British actor

Kingsley Ben-Adir is a British actor. He has performed in several plays in London theatres. He played pathologist Marcus Summer in ITV's detective drama Vera and private detective Karim Washington on the second season of the Netflix series The OA. From 2017 to 2019, he appeared in seasons four and five of the BBC One television series Peaky Blinders. In 2020, he starred as Malcolm X in the Amazon Studios film One Night in Miami... (2020).

<i>Red Oaks</i> Television series

Red Oaks is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Joe Gangemi and Gregory Jacobs. The first season was released on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2015. On December 18, 2015, Amazon announced that the show would be returning for a second season in 2016. The second season was released on November 11, 2016. On January 30, 2017, Amazon announced that the series was renewed for a third and final season, which was released on October 20, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willa Fitzgerald</span> American actress (born 1991)

Willa Fitzgerald is an American actress. She is known for her starring role as Emma Duval in MTV's Scream. She has played cheer coach Colette French in the USA Network's television drama series Dare Me and officer Roscoe Conklin in the Amazon Prime Video television series Reacher. Her other notable roles include Amazon Studios' television series Alpha House, the USA Network's drama series Royal Pains, and Netflix's horror miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher.

<i>Sneaky Pete</i> American crime drama series (2015–2019)

Sneaky Pete is an American crime drama series created by David Shore and Bryan Cranston. The series follows Marius Josipović, a released convict who adopts the identity of his cellmate, Pete Murphy, to avoid his past life. The series also stars Marin Ireland, Shane McRae, Libe Barer, Michael Drayer, Peter Gerety and Margo Martindale. The pilot debuted on August 7, 2015, and was followed by a full series order that September. Shore left the project in early 2016 and was replaced by Graham Yost, who served as executive producer and showrunner for the remaining nine episodes. The first season premiered in its entirety on January 13, 2017, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. On January 19, 2017, Amazon announced that Sneaky Pete had been renewed for a second season, which was released on March 9, 2018. On July 28, 2018, Amazon announced that the series had been renewed for a third season, which was released on May 10, 2019. On June 4, 2019, Amazon cancelled the series after three seasons.

<i>Goliath</i> (TV series) American legal drama television series

Goliath is an American legal drama television series by Amazon Studios. The show was commissioned with a straight-to-series order of eight episodes on December 1, 2015 and premiered on October 13, 2016, on Amazon Prime Video. On February 15, 2017, Amazon announced the series had been renewed for a second season and confirmed that Clyde Phillips was joining the series as showrunner. The trailer for season 2 was released on May 1, 2018. Season 2, consisting of eight episodes, was released on June 15, 2018. On December 11, 2018, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on October 4, 2019. On November 14, 2019, Amazon announced the series was renewed for a fourth and final season, which premiered on September 24, 2021.

<i>Good Girls Revolt</i> American period drama television series

Good Girls Revolt is an American period drama streaming television series. It is inspired by Lynn Povich's 2013 book The Good Girls Revolt and based on real-life events. The show was released on October 28, 2016, on Amazon Prime Video.

<i>The Last Tycoon</i> (TV series) American television series

The Last Tycoon is an American television series, originating from a pilot produced in 2016 as part of Amazon Studios' seventh pilot season. The show stars Matt Bomer and Kelsey Grammer and is loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's last book, the unfinished and posthumously published 1941 novel The Last Tycoon. Amazon picked up the pilot to series on July 27, 2016. The first season premiered on July 28, 2017. On September 9, 2017, Amazon cancelled the series.

<i>Narcos</i> (season 1) Season of television series

The first season of Narcos, an American crime thriller drama web television series produced and created by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro, follows the story of notorious drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, who became a billionaire through the production and distribution of cocaine, while also focusing on Escobar's interactions with other drug lords, DEA agents, and various opposition entities.

Patriot is an American comedy-drama television series created by Steven Conrad. It premiered on November 5, 2015, on Amazon Prime Video, with the remaining first-season episodes released on February 23, 2017. It stars Michael Dorman, Kurtwood Smith, Michael Chernus, Kathleen Munroe, Aliette Opheim, Chris Conrad, Terry O'Quinn and Debra Winger. In April 2017, Amazon announced that it had renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on November 9, 2018. In July 2019, Amazon announced that it had no plans for a third season.

<i>Carnival Row</i> 2019 American fantasy television series

Carnival Row is an American fantasy television series created by René Echevarria and Travis Beacham, based on Beacham's unproduced film spec script, A Killing on Carnival Row. The series stars Orlando Bloom, Cara Delevingne, Simon McBurney, Tamzin Merchant, David Gyasi, Andrew Gower, Karla Crome, Arty Froushan, Indira Varma, and Jared Harris. The series follows mythological beings who must survive as oppressed refugees in human society, as a detective works to solve murders connected with them.

<i>The Barber</i> (2014 film) 2014 American film

The Barber is a 2014 American thriller film directed by Basel Owies and starring Scott Glenn. It is Owies's feature directorial debut.

References

  1. "Hand of God". Amazon.com. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  2. Jarvey, Natalie (August 11, 2014). "Amazon Studios Sets August Premiere for Third Group of Pilots". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  3. Lewis, Hilary (October 3, 2014). "Amazon Picks Up Full Series of 'Hand of God' and Steven Soderbergh's 'Red Oaks'". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  4. Andreeva, Nellie (December 18, 2015). "Amazon Picks Up 5 New Primetime Series & 3 Kids Series, Renews 'Red Oaks' & 'Hand Of God'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  5. Petski, Denise (September 15, 2016). "Amazon's 'Hand Of God' To End After Season 2" . Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  6. "Hand of God : Season 1". Metacritic . Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  7. Nicholson, Max (September 4, 2015). "Hand of God: Season 1 Review". IGN. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  8. TV.com. "Hand of God". TV.com. Archived from the original on 2017-05-14. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
  9. VanDerWerff, Emily (September 6, 2015). "Amazon's new series Hand of God is excruciatingly terrible television". Vox . Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  10. Hale, Mike (September 3, 2015). "Review: 'Hand of God,' on Amazon, Is a California Neo-Noir Thriller". The New York Times . Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  11. McNamara, Mary (September 3, 2015). "Amazon's 'Hand of God' features miraculous acting, but little else". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  12. Sims, David (September 4, 2015). "Hand of God: A Dark, Violent, Vigilante Drama About Religion". The Atlantic . Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  13. Rorke, Robert (September 2, 2015). "Far-fetched 'Hand of God' is Oddly Compelling". New York Post. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  14. Derakhshani, Tirdad (September 4, 2015). "Amazon's 'Hand of God' a fascinating, if uneven religious satire". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved October 13, 2015.