40 Best TV Series About Church and Religion

There are many stories in which religion and mythology around beliefs play an important role. These are mystical horrors, and touching dramas, and light comedies, and hard black humor, and frankly manipulative tragedies, and historical biographies and even romcoms.

Choose the right series for your personal preferences and immerse yourself in a fascinating story will help a diverse list of the best religious series, which we are pleased to present to your attention. As usual, we have carefully selected each item and very much hope for your lively response!

American Born Chinese

• IMDB Rating – 7.1
• Genre: Action, Comedy, Fantasy
• Production: USA / 2023
• Director: Destin Daniel Cretton, Johnson Cheng
• Starring: Ben Wang, Yeo Yanniann, Chin Han, Jimi Liu, Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Sydney Taylor, Daniel Wu, Mahi Alam, Leonard Wu

Brand new and critically acclaimed as one of the best projects on Disney+, the comedy-fantasy teen series is a story in which young people confront cruel Chinese gods.

And it starts out rather trivial. Wei Chen is a newcomer to America, having recently moved from China. He becomes a buddy and at the same time a ward of a high school student Jin Wang, who helps Wei to adapt to the new life and local traditions. And then it turns out that Wei is a descendant of the Monkey King, who needs Jin’s help in fighting divine opponents.

The series is based on Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel of the same name, and has been criticized a bit for its inaccurate portrayal of Chinese gods.

Covenant

• Genre: Family
• Production: Russia / 2023
• Director: Olga Vinogradova, Andrey Shugaev, Oleg Bachaev
• Starring: Arseny Popov

The Russian series coming out on Okko from producer Timur Bekmambetov is an Old Testament story told in modern language in 25 episodes and in an ultra-short format.

The Almighty creates the universe and life with the help of his smartphone. We don’t see God, but we observe what is happening on his phone. With the help of apps, icons and emoticons, the story of creation and human existence unfolds before the viewers, abundantly illustrated with classical paintings and voiced by the voice of Arseny Popov.

The idea for the series belongs to Bekmambetov, and the consultants include art historians and clerics.

Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev

• IMDB Rating – 9.3
• Genre: Fantasy, Action, Drama
• Production: India / 2011
• Director: Nikhil Sinha
• Starring: Mohit Raina, Mouni Roy, Falak Naaz, Surendra Pal, Sonarika Bhadoria, Charu Asopa, Arun Bali, Vicky Batra, Annapurna Bhairi, Rajiv Bharadwaj.

Bizarre, exotic, striking lushness, beauty and flamboyance of plots and music fantasy series, which will introduce you to numerous deities and demons of Indian mythology.

The main character of the parables woven into a single picture is Shiva. Legends about him and his adventures from ancient Indian literature and from the works of mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik and formed the basis of the plot.

The Chosen

• IMDB Rating – 9.3
• Genre: Drama, History
• Production: USA / 2017
• Director: Dallas Jenkins
• Starring: Jonathan Rumi, Liz Tabish, Scheer Isaac, Paras Patel, Noah James, George Harrison Xanthis, Nick Shakower, Jordan Walker Ross, Jiawani Kairo, Shaan Sharma

A powerful epic historical series about the life of Jesus of Nazareth from the point of view of his surroundings. The project is being filmed mostly with money raised by crowdfunding, and good Christians have already invested more than 40 million dollars in it.

The first season begins in Galilee of the first century, when Jesus of Nazareth gathers people around him for his ministry, performs the first miracles, gives redemption to Mary Magdalene. In season two, Jesus wanders through Samaria, Syria, Judea, meeting more and more people and encountering serious obstacles, and so on.

Amid the Actors and Writers Guilds’ 2023 summer strike, the union has allowed filming on Season 4 of “The Chosen Ones” to continue, and it’s almost an isolated incident.

Farouk Omar

• IMDB Rating – 9.4
• Genre: Biography, History, Military, Drama
• Production: Morocco / 2012
• Director: Hatem Ali
• Starring: Samer Ismail, Hazem Zedan, Ghassan Massoud, Rakin Saad, Zied Touati, Jihad Abdou, Mehyar Khaddour

Religious-historical series from Morocco – the life story of the Islamic Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, the closest companion of the Prophet Muhammad, one of the ten people “pleased with paradise” in his lifetime, a major Arab political, military and religious figure.

The events of the series cover the period of Umar’s life from his 18th birthday in 604 to his death. His adoption of Islam, his tough character, his shrewd mind, his environment – and the story of his life is told by him himself, remembering and reflecting on the past.

The series, of course, caused numerous disputes in Muslim countries, but generally received support. By the way, the project premiered on July 20 in the month of Ramadan.

Schism

• IMDB Rating – 7.8
• Genre: Drama, History
• Production: Russia / 2011
• Director: Nikolai Dostal
• Starring: Dmitry Tikhonov, Valery Grishko, Alexander Korotkov, Roman Madyanov, Daria Ekamasova, Alexander Korshunov, Olga Kavalai-Aksenova, Ivan Verkhovykh, Vsevolod Ivanov, Oleg Lyubimov.

This Russian project was two years in the making, from 2009 to 2011, with the plot being written based on the work of famous historians and writers, and the budget and number of episodes increasing in the process.

This series is a beautiful hagiography of the 17th century church, an in-depth study of the reforms that Patriarch Nikon undertook in the 1650s to bring the Russian church in line with the Greek church. Nikon’s closest friend and associate, Protopope Avvakum, opposed the reforms, which caused a schism in the church that led to the emergence of Old Believers.

The main consultant of the series was Gleb Chistyakov, an expert on Old Believers and theology, historian and journalist.

Shtisel

• IMDB Rating – 8.6
• Genre: Drama
• Production: Israel / 2013
• Director: Alon Zingman
• Starring: Dovale Glickman, Michael Aloni, Neta Riskin, Shira Haas, Zohar Strauss, Sarel Peterman, Sasson Gabai, Yoav Rothman, Orli Zilbershatz Banai.

Israeli TV series ironically revealing the traditions and life of the Jewish ultra-Orthodox community in Mea Shearim. Akiva Shtisel is a single artist. Both are bad for a “proper” Jew, and his father tries to persuade his son to change his profession and undertakes to find him a bride.

Akiva has a big family, with its own problems and troubles. While his father is scouring his acquaintances in search of a worthy bride, our hero falls in love with a charming widow with a child, but no member of the family wants such a daughter-in-law.

In the first season, Michael Aloni, who played Akiva, had an artificial beard. By the second season, he had grown his own.

Hwayugi

• IMDB Rating – 8.0
• Genre: Fantasy, comedy, melodrama, adventure
• Production: Korea South / 2017
• Director: Park Hong-kyung, Kim Byung-su, Kim Jong-hyun
• Starring: Lee Seung-gi, Cha Seung-won, Oh Yeon-soo, Lee Hong-gi, Jang Gwan, Lee El, Kim Seon-oh, Yoon Bo-ra, Lee Se-young, Song Ji-roo

A Korean Odyssey is a South Korean fantasy adventure series based on Korean religious legends about ghosts, gods and demons. If you want a closer look at Asian mythology, be sure to watch this show.

The plot centers on Jin Seong-mi, who has seen ghosts since childhood, and it constantly depressed the unfortunate girl. One day she meets the mysterious Ma Wang, who turns out to be a god and, in exchange for a favor, promises to give her his umbrella that can ward off ghosts. Son-mi embarks on an amazing adventure filled with the deceit of the gods and demonic temptations.

The plot of the series is very loosely based on the famous 16th century Chinese classical novel “Journey to the West”.

The Young Pope

• IMDB Rating – 8.3
• Genre: Drama
• Production: Italy, France, Spain, UK, USA / 2016
• Director: Paolo Sorrentino
• Starring: Jude Law, Diane Keaton, Silvio Orlando, Javier Camara, Scott Shepherd, Cecile de France, Ludivine Sanier, Tony Bertorelli, James Cromwell, Ignazio Oliva.

A terrific series that is considered the best project of 2016, at least it is definitely in the top ten of many lists, created by Oscar-winning Paolo Sorrentino. The story is fictionalized, but it reveals a lot about the sacraments of the top of the Catholic Church.

The plot revolves around Cardinal Lenny Belardo, who was elected Pope, believing that the young pontiff will be easy to manipulate. Named Pius XIII, Lenny’s tough character, shrewd mind, and unyielding desire to change the church according to his own vision is evident from the first days.

It is one of the most expensive and aesthetically pleasing Italian TV series. In 2020, the equally brilliant sequel “The New Dad” was released, essentially the next season of the same story, a highly rated series starring John Malkovich.

Good Omens

• IMDB Rating – 8.0
• Genre: Fantasy, Comedy
• Production: UK, USA / 2019
• Director: Douglas McKinnon
• Starring: Michael Sheen, David Tennant, Miranda Richardson, Jon Hamm, Nina Sosanya, Doon Makichen, Gloria Obiano, Frances McDormand, Maggie Service, Sam Taylor Buck

The impeccably bright duo of Michael Sheen and David Tennant in the adaptation of the joint best-selling novel by two writers, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. This is a fantasy series about angels and demons, a comedic “reprise” of biblical stories and a wonderful satire about our society.

At the center of the story are two ancient adversaries: the angel Aziraphel (Shin), who once protected Adam and Eve from the machinations of Satan, and the demon Crowley (Tennant), the same one who acted as a serpent-temptress back in the Garden of Eden. Since then, they have known each other and are even friends, living on Earth, keeping an eye on humanity, and too attached to him. And so, when their “superiors” begin to plan the imminent apocalypse, the success of which largely depends on this couple, Crowley and Aziraphale decide to sabotage and delay the end of the world, or even cancel it altogether.

After Terry Pratchett’s death, his suicide letter was found, in which he gave his consent to screen adaptation of the book. Neil Gaiman fulfilled his friend’s will and began developing the project in 2016.

Unorthodox

• IMDB Rating – 8.0
• Genre: Drama
• Production: Germany / 2020
• Director: Maria Schrader
• Starring: Shira Haas, Amit Rahav, Jeff Wilbush, Alex Reed, Ronit Asheri, Delia Meyer, Dina Doron, Hera Sandler, Eli Rosen

Another, darker look at Jewish orthodox communities where women are generally oppressed and have no voice. Getting married at the behest of a rabbi, having her head shaved at her wedding, being banned from education and birth control after marriage – all of this is experienced by the series’ protagonist, 19-year-old Esti.

Every day of her life, in which she is obliged to be a dutiful wife and mother, is dictated by men. And then she runs away to her mother in Berlin, who also left the community with a huge scandal 15 years ago. Following Esti on the rabbi’s orders are her husband and cousin, a cruel and slippery man who is determined to get the fugitive back at any cost.

All interiors were filmed in a studio in Berlin.

Joan of Arcadia

• IMDB Rating – 7.1
• Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Comedy, Crime
• Production: USA / 2003
• Director: James Heyman, Kevin Dowling, Steve Homer
• Starring: Joe Mantegna, Mary Steenbergen, Amber Tamblyn, Jason Ritter, Michael Welsh, Becky Wahlstrom, Chris Marquette, Aaron Himelstein, Majaina Tova, Elaine Hendricks.

Very popular in the early 2000s, a sweet, slightly naive, kind family show about 16-year-old Joanna, to whom God speaks. The Girardi family moves to Arcadia, where Joanna’s father is offered a job as police chief. Her mother takes a job as a teacher, her older brother Kevin, a former American soccer player, is disabled, and the younger Luke is a real dreamer.

And then God begins to appear to Joanna in the form of the most ordinary people, giving the girl various, sometimes seemingly meaningless, tasks. She shirks some of them, but when she performs the next one, she realizes that she has made someone’s life much better.

It is one of the few shows that was nominated for an Emmy as early as the first season. Unfortunately, in the second season, the show’s ratings dropped and the series was shut down.

The Leftovers

• IMDB Rating – 8.3
• Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Detective
• Production: USA / 2014
• Director: Mimi Leder, Carl Franklin, Keith Gordon
• Starring: Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Christopher Eccleston, Liv Tyler, Chris Zylka, Margaret Qually, Carrie Coon, Emily Meade, Amanda Warren, Ann Dowd

Based on Tom Perotta’s book of the same name, The Departed is a dystopian sci-fi drama whose popularity only grew with the new seasons, making the project a cult favorite. This is the story of how the world of religions can become if a global catastrophe occurs.

The events of the series begin three years after a shocking event – a traceless one-step disappearance of 140 million people, called “Sudden Departure”. Religions are in decline and many cults are springing up on the planet, the dominant one of which becomes the Guilty Cult. The cult’s leader, St. Wayne, announces the Second Coming with himself in the lead role. The events are told through the lives of several families affected by the hardship.

Critics have called the series “one of the greatest shows in history” and compared it to the iconic “Staying Alive.”

Kalifat

• IMDB Rating – 8.2
• Genre: Thriller, Drama, Crime
• Production: Sweden / 2020
• Director: Goran Kapetanovic
• Starring: Gizem Erdogan, Amed Bozan, Aliette Ofeim, Alben Granholm, Nora Rios, Amanda Sohrabi, Lancelot Ncube, Sade Lig, Tia Alkerdi, Youssra El Abdouni.

A Swedish spy drama from Netflix about the role and position of women in the radical wing of Islam. The series reveals the background of modern jihad through the prism of the fates of three women.

The action of “Caliphate” begins in Raqqa, Syria, where a woman named Pervin moves from Sweden in 2015 with her 4-month-old baby and her husband, who has joined the IS. She miraculously gets a cell phone from a friend and contacts Fatima, who works in Sweden, agreeing to spy for terrorists in exchange for returning to her homeland …

The series is based on true events, and the phenomenon of Jihad Brides still exists to this day, forcing young women, often forcibly, to convert to Islam and move to eastern countries.

Carnivàle

• IMDB Rating – 8.4
• Genre: Fantasy, Thriller, Drama, Detective
• Production: USA / 2003
• Director: Rodrigo Garcia, Jeremy Podesva, Jack Bender.
• Starring: Nick Stahl, Clancy Brown, Michael J. Anderson, Clea DuVall, Tim DeKay, Amy Madigan, Carla Gallo, Robert Nepper, John Carroll Lynch, Patrick Beauchot.

Gnosticism, Freemasonry, Knights Templar and Christian teachings. This series is a real carnival of diverse religious ideas described in two gradually intertwining storylines.

Events unfold in the 30s of the last century. Ben Hawkins is a young boy with healing abilities who leaves home with a traveling circus. Soon Ben begins to have prophetic dreams, leading him to surprising discoveries. The circus gradually approaches California, where lives preacher Justin Crowe, who shares the dreams with Ben, but interprets them in a completely different way, imagining himself to be the right hand of God.

In 2005, Carnivale won 5 Emmy Awards. The show was planned to be filmed for 6 seasons, but due to a sharp drop in ratings in the second season, the show was closed.

Buddha: Rajaon Ka Raja

• IMDB Rating – 8.8
• Genre: Biography
• Production: India / 2013
• Budget: ₹ 100,000,000
• Director: Vinod Manikrao, Dharmesh Shah
• Starring: Kabir Bedi, Himanshu Soni, Sameer Dharmadhikari, Gungun Uprani, Meghan Jadhav, Jaghav Singh, Joy Ratthan Singh Mathur, Alok Nath Pathak, Ravish Rathi, Kajal Jain

A beautiful, sensitive and unhurried series in which you will live every day of Prince Siddhartha, who became the Buddha. Over two and a half thousand years ago, a son was born to King Shuddhodana somewhere in India, and the sages predicted two fates for him. Either he would take over the world and become the greatest ruler, or he would renounce the world and become enlightened.

The king wanted for his son the destiny of a ruler and shielded him from all things and sufferings that could plant the seed of spiritual quest in Siddhartha’s soul. It was not until he was 29 that the prince left the palace for the first time, and then came the Four Spectacles, four encounters that brought about a moral revolution in the heart of the future deity.

At first, the series was banned in Nepal because the presentation announced that Gautama Buddha was born in India. In fact, the exact place of his birth is unknown – either in Nepal or India.

The Righteous Gemstones

• IMDB Rating – 8.1
• Genre: Drama, Comedy
• Production: USA / 2019
• Director: Jody Hill, David Gordon Green, Danny McBride
• Starring: John Goodman, Danny McBride, Adam Divine, Edie Patterson, Cassidy Freeman, Gregory Alan Williams, Tim Baltz, Tony Cavalero, Skyler Gisondo, Jody Hill

Preaching in any country is a lucrative profession. And if someone sincerely carries his beliefs to the people, others shamelessly profit from gullible parishioners. “The Righteous Jamstones” is a great comedy of the absurd, ridiculing this kind of church business in the West.

The Jamstones are a family of TV evangelists who are masterful at seducing crowds of righteous Christians. This clan faces many problems, from competition to extortion, but clings tenaciously to its place in life, where nothing spiritual has been present for a long time – only profit and desperate struggle for its increase.

In July 2023, HBO renewed the series for a 4th season.

Preacher

• IMDB Rating – 7.9
• Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Drama, Detective, Adventure
• Production: USA / 2016
• Director: Michael Slovis, Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen
• Starring: Dominic Cooper, Joseph Gilgan, Ruth Negga, Ian Colletti, Graham McTavish, Pip Torrence, Noah Taylor, Julie Anne Emery, Malcolm Barrett, Mark Harelick

If you’re into violent fantasies with religious themes, you’ll find everything you need here. But don’t show this show to a priest you know, he might be offended.

Jesse Custer is a cynical preacher from Texas with a criminal past who suddenly gains a superpower: others obey his every command unquestioningly, even through reluctance. He teams up with his impulsive girlfriend Tulip and an Irish vampire and literally goes in search of God, beginning a protracted journey of unimaginable adventures.

The series is based on the DC Vertigo imprint comics of the same name, a publisher that specializes in harder-hitting products than the main company.

The Bible

• IMDB Rating – 7.4
• Genre: Drama
• Production: UK, USA / 2013
• Director: Crispin Rhys, Tony Mitchell, Christopher Spencer
• Starring: Keith David, Robert Powell, Jake Canuso, Diogo Morgado, Darwin Shaw, Sebastian Knapp, Adrian Schiller, Paul Brightwell, Greg Hicks, Amber Rose Reeva

An unpretentious fiction series from actress Roma Downey and her husband Mark Burnett, retelling the events described in the Bible from roughly the 18th century B.C. to the birth and life of Jesus Christ.

The series begins with Noah aboard the ark telling the story of the creation of the world and the fall of man. Then, in ten episodes, all the significant events of history that are described in the Christian holy book unfold.

The music for the series was composed by Hans Zimmer, one of the best composers of our time.

Lucifer

• IMDB Rating – 8.1
• Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Crime
• Production: USA / 2016
• Director: Nathan Hope, Egil Egilsson, Luis Shaw Milito
• Starring: Tom Ellis, Lauren Germann, Kevin Alejandro, D.B. Woodside, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Rachel Harris, Aimee Garcia, Scarlett Esteves, Tricia Helfer

Another eccentric series by Neil Gaiman, based on the comics he co-wrote with Sam Keith for Vertigo Publishing.

Lucifer, bored in the Underworld, decides to live among humans, settles in Los Angeles and opens a licentious nightclub. One day the King of Hell becomes embroiled in a murder investigation with private investigator Chloe Decker, finds that his supernatural charm doesn’t work on her, and becomes Chloe’s partner in her detective craft.

The series was almost shut down in 2018 after 2 seasons, but Netflix bought the rights and finished a full 6 seasons of this bizarre story.

Ramy

• IMDB Rating – 8.0
• Genre: Drama, Melodrama, Comedy
• Production: USA / 2019
• Director: Rami Youssef, Shereen Dabis, Christopher Storer
• Starring: Rami Youssef, Amr Waqed, Mohammed Amer, Dave Merheje, Hiam Abbass, Laith Nakli, May Kalamawi, Steve Way, Shadi Alphonse, MaameYaa Boafo

One of the few shows that doesn’t intimidate people with scary Islam, but tells about Muslim traditions and peculiarities in a heartwarming and humorous way.

Rami Hassan is a young Muslim who still lives with his conservative parents, who moved to America from Palestine and Egypt, and his adult sister in northern New Jersey. Not just a casual Muslim, Rami adheres strictly to the rules of his faith, albeit rather selectively. Rami tries to balance his beliefs and Western culture while remaining a good person and looking forward to his future.

The series was created and starred stand-up comedian Rami Youssef, who has won several awards for his portrayal of peaceful Islam.

Messiah

• IMDB Rating – 7.6
• Genre: Thriller, Drama, Detective
• Production: USA / 2020
• Director: James McTeague, Kate Woods
• Starring: Mehdi Dehbi, Tomer Sisle, Michelle Monaghan, John Ortiz, Melinda Page Hamilton, Stephanie Owen, Said El Alami, Jane Adams, Wil Travel, Fares Landoulsi.

In Syria, a young itinerant preacher manages to avert an armed conflict by causing a sandstorm. Witnesses to this miracle proclaim him the prophet Isa (Jesus in Islam) and volunteer to accompany him to the Israeli border.

Soon all the world’s media is focused on him, the man who appeared out of nowhere. And while hope is timidly rekindled in the hearts of ordinary people, CIA agent Eva Geller and Mossad agent Aviram Dahan are convinced that this miracle worker is an imposter, perhaps even a terrorist. And they will turn the world upside down to prove them right.

It’s funny that Jordan allowed the series to be filmed on its soil, but banned it from being shown in the country.

Rev.

• IMDB Rating – 7.8
• Genre: Comedy
• Production: UK / 2010
• Director: Peter Cattaneo
• Starring: Tom Hollander, Olivia Colman, Steve Evetts, Miles Jupp, Simon McBurney, Ellen Thomas, Lucy Lehmann, Jimmy Akinbola, Katie Meils

A British sitcom whose plot centers on the life of a vicar, his daily concerns and ministry. Adam Smallbone is a young priest who comes from the countryside to work at a church on the Hackney moors in East London.

Adam faces a number of moral and material problems. True believers alternate with people who simply need help or shelter. Drug addicts, the homeless, drinkers – and no one the vicar refuses to comfort. He is also far more annoyed by Archdeacon Robert, who insists on increasing the congregation in order to make more money.

The series’ church scenes were filmed in East London at St. Leonard’s Church.

Monastery

• Genre: Drama
• Production: Russia / 2022
• Director: Alexander Molochnikov
• Starring: Anastasia Ivleeva, Philip Yankovsky, Mark Eidelstein, Maria Mironova, Dzhanik Faiziev, Svetlana Ivanova, Natalia Kudryashova, Maria Abashova, Artem Bystrov, Pavel Vorozhtsov

A scandalous Russian project criticized by the Russian Orthodox Church, but which set a record in terms of views on the day of its release. Maria is a recent capital city slacker, a pro-lifer, whose fault the wife of a famous businessman finds herself at the center of an extremely unsightly scandal. Fearing the revenge of an influential lady, Maria decides to get away and wait it out.

By the will of fate, she finds herself in a convent, where life is radically different from what the party girl Maria is used to. Daring, frightened, she learns to work with her hands, to humble her passions and learns about herself, inevitably changing, but also changing everything around her.

The project was filmed in the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, as well as in Vologda.

Hand of God

• IMDB Rating – 7.5
• Genre: Drama, Crime
• Production: USA / 2014
• Director: Peter Medak, Marc Forster, Sarah Pia Anderson
• Starring: Ron Perlman, Dana Delaney, Andre Royo, Garrett Dillahunt, Alona Tal, Emayatsi Corinealdi, Julian Morris, Elizabeth McLaughlin, Cleavon McClendon, Johnny Ferro

Pernell Harris is a dishonorable judge in the fictional California town of San Vicente who comes from a locally influential family. His son P.J. is in a coma due to a suicide attempt after a brutal and unsolved crime he witnessed. Then one day, the judge begins to hear God speaking to him through his son.

Pernell begins to follow the clues he believes the Almighty is sending him and suddenly begins to uncover the secrets of the crimes, intending to bring vigilante justice. The judge is assisted by several dubious characters who seek personal gain in all this.

The pilot episode was shown for free to viewers online at Amazon Video in August 2014 to decide whether to order or cancel the first season. The series was shut down after two seasons.

Vangelia

• IMDB Rating – 7.7
• Genre: Drama, Biography
• Production: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine / 2013
• Director: Sergei Borchukov
• Starring: Elena Yakovleva, Irina Rakhmanova, Natalia Nikolaeva, Daria Otroshko, Kristina Pakarina, Karina Andolenko, Taisiya Vilkova, Evgeny Knyazev, Anatoly Bely, Daniil Belykh.

A Russian biographical series densely layered with mysticism about a fictional journalist, Alisa Varezhkina, who is chosen by the Bulgarian prophetess Vanga from a crowd of reporters to make revelations about her life.

Then, throughout the 12 episodes, Vanga recalls her youth and speaks predictions that amaze the young Alice, who finds them believable and sometimes receives proof of their accuracy. Vanga’s beliefs are a mixture of Christianity with flecks of Eastern beliefs.

In no case can the series be regarded as a real biography with real prophecies – it is rather a scary tale with elements of reality very remotely based on some facts from the life of Vanga.

The series, by the way, premiered first in Israel, on the Russian-language Channel 9 on August 25, 2013.

American Gods

• IMDB Rating – 7.6
• Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Detective
• Production: USA / 2017
• Director: David Slade, Adam Cain, Christopher J. Byrne
• Starring: Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Yetide Badaki, Bruce Langley, Ian McShane, Omid Abtahi, Crispin Glover, Demore Barnes, Pablo Schreiber, Orlando Jones

The visually flawless series based on Neil Gaiman’s book of the same name is a wonderfully logical, menacing and disturbing story of ancient and modern gods clashing in America in an irreconcilable struggle. What does humanity worship now? And are the new idols worth the oblivion of the old?

Shadow Moon, released from prison, meets an eccentric old man who calls himself Wednesday, and against his will is drawn into the conflict between the old (Egyptian, Scandinavian, Russian) gods brought to the American continent by immigrants of all nations, and the new (the god of Globalization, the goddess of Media, the god of Technology, and so on).

Neil Gaiman became an executive producer on the series and helped with writing the scripts for the episodes.

Lambs of God

• IMDB Rating – 7.3
• Genre: Drama
• Production: Australia / 2019
• Director: Geoffrey Walker
• Starring: Essie Davis, Jessica Barden, Ann Dowd, Sam Reid, Asha Boswarwa, Ariante Galani, Emma Lancaster, Brad McMurray, Yvonne Ray, Sarah Woods

This is the extraordinary story of three nuns, forgotten by people and the Catholic Church, living on a remote island in a crumbling abbey. Margaret, Carla and Iphigenia are the last representatives of the once powerful Order of St. Agnes.

The sisters consider themselves reincarnations of their predecessors and dream of breathing life into their order anew. And then one day a young Father Ignatius appears on the island, sent by his superiors to inspect what they thought was an abandoned abbey on the island. This event becomes a symbol of renewed hope in the hearts of the three nuns.

The series is based on a gothic novel by Australian writer Marel Day.

Midnight Mass

• IMDB Rating – 7.7
• Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Drama, Detective
• Production: USA / 2021
• Director: Mike Flanagan
• Starring: Zach Gilford, Hamish Linklater, Samantha Sloan, Kate Siegel, Igby Rigney, Christine Lehman, Rahul Kohli, Annara Simon, Annabeth Gish, Alexandra Essow

A supernatural, highly addictive series from Netflix, a dark psychological thriller about how a person who believes in a miracle can let evil into their life.

Riley Flynn returns to her God-fearing hometown on secluded Crockett Island after a prison sentence, hoping to start life anew. Father Paul Hill arrives on the island to replace the elderly priest Pruitt, who has disappeared, and with his arrival, terrible, violent, and strange events begin to unfold in the town.

The series was filmed continuously for almost 3 months under the severe constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reaper

• IMDB Rating – 7.8
• Genre: Fantasy, Thriller, Drama, Comedy, Adventure
• Production: USA, Canada / 2007
• Director: Steven Cregg, James Head, Ron Underwood
• Starring: Bret Harrison, Tyler Labine, Rick Gonzalez, Missy Peregrym, Andrew Airlie, Ray Wise, Donavan Stinson, Valerie Ray Miller, Christine Wills, Jenny Wade.

A simple, light fantasy sitcom that touches on religious themes, but is very unserious. In the center of the plot is a complete loser Sam, who is tired of life like this and dreams of a miracle.

And the miracle happens, though it’s a very dubious one. On his 21st birthday, Sam learns that his precious ancestors sold the soul of their precious son to the devil, and now he has to work it off, becoming a Reaper with superpowers, a collector of souls in the service of hell. Not all souls want to go to the abode of darkness voluntarily, so now Sam’s life is filled with inimitable fun.

Despite high ratings, The CW shut down the series after its second season due to financial problems, a couple years afterward looking unconvincingly for a buyer to continue the show.

Impastor

• IMDB Rating – 7.6
• Genre: Comedy, Crime
• Production: USA, Canada / 2015
• Director: J. Clark Mathis, Rob Greenberg, Jay Karas
• Starring: Michael Rosenbaum, Sarah Ryu, Marcey Monroe, David Rush, Mike Kosinski, Lindsey Gort, Matt Anderson, Jonathan Young, Bonita Friederisi, Saida Arrika Ekulona

An American sitcom about a self-styled pastor who goes through a difficult journey of reinvention. Buddy Dobbs is a gambler and a slacker who one day gets into a nasty bind with loan sharks, fakes his own death and claws his way away from dangerous neighborhoods.

Along the way, he gets a good chance to disguise himself. He steals the identity of the deceased pastor Jonathan Barlow on his way to a new parish in the town of Ladner and pretends to be a priest, sometimes shocking the parishioners with his total ignorance of basic religious things.

A week after the second season ended, TV Land canceled the series due to low viewings.

Miracles

• IMDB Rating – 7.6
• Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Thriller, Drama, Detective
• Production: USA / 2003
• Director: Bill D’Elia, John Fawcett, Marita Grabiak
• Starring: Skeet Ulrich, Angus Macfadyen, Marisa Ramirez, Hector Elizondo, Jacob Smith, Alex Villers, Alison Croft, Scott Peet, Katie Fountain, Jade Carter.

Paul Callan is a churchman and researcher into the modern “miracles” of the Catholic Church. Once a devout believer, he is experiencing a crisis of faith as he constantly finds the most down-to-earth explanations for weeping icons, manifesting faces, and other phenomena that believers rush to proclaim another miracle.

One day Paul’s life is saved by a real miracle, but no one believes him, as he cannot provide any proof. Leaving the church, Paul joins the secret organization Sodalitas Quaerito, and now works with its founder Alva Keel, cataloging unexplained phenomena and trying to prevent the end of the world.

The script was purchased by Spyglass Entertainment from Michael Petroni and finalized by Richard Hatem into a series format.

Senke nad Balkanom

• IMDB Rating – 8.9
• Genre: Thriller, Drama, Crime
• Production: Serbia / 2017
• Director: Srdjan Spasic, Dragan Bjeloggrlić, Danilo Bečković
• Starring: Andrija Kuzmanovic, Marija Bergam, Dragan Bjelogrlic, Jovana Stojiljkovic, Nenad Jezdic, Gordan Kicic, Goran Bogdan, Aleksandar Gligoric, Nebojsa Dugalic, Aleksandar Stojkovic

Religious relics bring many troubles when greedy or superstitious people try to get their hands on them. “Shadows Over the Balkans” is a Serbian crime thriller whose events unfold between World Wars I and II.

In Belgrade, plagued by the opium wars, police inspector Andra Tanasijevic and his assistant Stanko Pletikosic investigate a series of brutal ritual murders, soon discovering that the cause of all the crimes is a powerful relic, namely the Spear of Destiny, which Jesus was pierced with on the cross.

Later, Tanasijevic is drawn into chaotic and bloody events involving a secret religious society, the Belgrade underground, and even Wrangel’s White Army….

This series was one of the top rated and most watched projects in 2017.

Father

• Genre: Drama
• Production: Russia / 2008
• Director: Vasily Mishchenko
• Starring: Victor Pavlyuchenkov, Artem Mazunov, Tamara Syomina, Daria Mishchenko, Anna Legchilova, Sergey Shekhovtsov, Gennady Yukhtin, Igor Artashonov, Nelly Nevedina, Valentin Varetsky

A very heartwarming Russian series about the search for the meaning of life in a separate village. Roman Malyshev, a 40-year-old sailor, returns home to the village of Rybnoye after years of absence. A loner, he helps Father Athanasius to restore the church, which was destroyed during the Soviet era.

Roman fights off the salesgirl Marinka, who is interested in him, falls in love with a local girl Elena, and builds the temple, rethinking his life. And around unfolds rural no-nonsense secrets and passions. Roman will have to learn the history of his family and become a real bishop in this very temple.

Especially for the series, Yuri Shevchuk wrote a song and even played a tiny cameo as a village doctor.

God Friended Me

• IMDB Rating – 6.9
• Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Comedy
• Production: USA / 2018
• Director: Marcos Seaga, Darren Grant, Joe Morton
• Starring: Brandon Michael Hall, Violet Bean, Suraj Sharma, Javicia Leslie, Joe Morton, Erica Gimpel, Shazi Raja, Francesca Baer, Rachel Bay Jones, Adam Goldberg

Miles Finer is a New York podcaster and militant atheist who is added as a friend one day by a strange “God” account. This new friend starts suggesting new friends to Miles, people who need help in New York City.

Gradually, Miles becomes imbued with his mission, and at the same time tries to find out who is behind the odious account. He also occasionally has serious arguments with his father, a priest from Harlem.

CBS Channel shut down the television series after two seasons due to a drop in viewing figures.

The Second Coming

• IMDB Rating – 7.5
• Genre: Fantasy, Thriller, Drama, Melodrama
• Production: UK / 2003
• Director: Adrian Shergold
• Starring: Lesley Sharp, Annabell Epsion, William Travis, Peter Armitage, Ace Bhatti, Christopher Eccleston, Jazmine Franks, Mark Benton, Peter White, Jack Watson.

Shy Manchester salesman Stephen Baxter disappears for 40 days after a rowdy party with friends. And then he is discovered in Saddleworth Heath, obsessed with the idea that he is the incarnation of Jesus.

Of course, no one believes the guy, except for one unorthodox young priest, and soon Steve has to demonstrate miracles to convince people. And then he begins his search for the Third Covenant to prevent the Apocalypse.

The show’s plot was written by Russell T. Davies, the head writer of 2005’s Doctor Who. Davis, an atheist, admitted that he wanted to provoke religious debate in society.

The Path

• IMDB Rating – 7.2
• Genre: Drama, Detective, Thriller
• Production: USA / 2016
• Director: Michael Weaver, Patrick R. Norris, Mike Cahill
• Starring: Aaron Paul, Michelle Monahan, Emma Greenwell, Kyle Allen, Hugh Dancy, Dirdry O’Connell, Aimee Lawrence, Ali Ahn, Patrick Darro, Rockmond Dunbar

A curious experiment by American playwright Jessica Goldberg about people who preach a fictional religion called “Meyerism”.

The plot centers on a small commune that preaches a strange cult that originated decades ago. Now that the first Meyer leader lives in Peru, his successor Cal Roberts guides the adherents, making their path increasingly dark. The story focuses on spooges Eddie and Sarah. Sarah is in love with Cal, and she is annoyed by her husband, who begins to question the principles of Meyerism.

On the role of Cal Roberts initially wanted to invite Idris Elba, but he refused.

Father Brown

• IMDB Rating – 7.8
• Genre: Drama, Crime, Detective
• Production: UK / 2013
• Director: Paul Gibson, Ian Barber, Matt Carter
• Starring: Mark Williams, Sorcha Cusack, John Burton, Jack Deem, Alex Price, Nancy Carroll, Emer Kenny, Tom Chambers, Hugo Spear, John Light

Excellent, light and interesting British detective-religious series, the events of which unfold in the 50s of the last century in a small fictional English village Kembleford.

Father Brown is a priest of the local church, very responsible for his religious duties and attentive to people. At their requests, Brown often intervenes in the work of the police, helping to solve the most intricate crimes. He is helped not only by the congregation, but also by other church members.

There is a spin-off of this series called Sister Boniface Investigations from 2022.

Black Jesus

• IMDB Rating – 7.0
• Genre: Comedy
• Production: USA / 2014
• Director: Mike Klattenburg, Heath Cullens, Rusty Cundiff
• Starring: Gerald “Slink” Johnson, John Witherspoon, Corey Holcomb, Angela E. Gibbs, Antwon Tanner, Valentia Algarin, Charlie Murphy, Kali Hawk, Andra Fuller, Andrew Bachelor

A funny sitcom, a satire on modern American life in an unusual setting. Imagine that Jesus lives now, somewhere in the neighborhood of Los Angeles. He is black, smiling, never parting with his crown of thorns and constantly encouraging those around him.

Jesus constantly encounters unbelievers, gangsters, cops, immigrants, and everywhere he preaches and tries to help, converting people to his faith and building an army of followers. Instead of loaves and fishes, he has marijuana and turns water into brandy.

Because the show features profanity, pot, and booze, some pastors have recommended that the series be excluded from airing on national channels.

Of Kings and Prophets

• IMDB Rating – 6.0
• Genre: Drama
• Production: USA / 2016
• Director: Duane Clark, David Boyd, Erickson Core
• Starring: Ray Winston, Ollie Ricks, Mohammad Bakri, Simone Cassel, Nathaniel Parker, Haaz Slayman, James Floyd, Macy Richardson-Sellers, Janine Mason, David Walmsley

The series, based on the books of Samuel, tells the story of Samuel, Saul and David. It takes place a thousand years before the birth of Jesus, when the 12 tribes of Israel are trying to unite and struggle with many problems, still obeying the vague instructions of their prophet.

Saul is a ruler and military leader who seeks to finalize the unification of the tribes. Despite his tenacity and intelligence, he listens too much to Samuel, and so he makes several global mistakes and then confides his doubts to the young shepherd David.

Although the action takes place in Israel, the series was filmed entirely in South Africa.