Miracle Workers (2019 TV series)

Miracle Workers is an American anthology comedy television series created by Simon Rich for TBS. It is based in part on Rich's writings, with the first season being based on his 2012 novel What in God's Name, while the short story "Revolution" provided the basis for the second season. The series stars an ensemble cast comprising Daniel Radcliffe, Steve Buscemi, Geraldine Viswanathan, Jon Bass, Karan Soni, Sasha Compère, and Lolly Adefope. The show is a co-production between TBS and FX, whose in-house production company FXP is involved.

Miracle Workers premiered on February 12, 2019, with its seven-episode first season. A second season, subtitled Dark Ages, premiered in January 2020, and a third season, subtitled Oregon Trail, premiered in July 2021. In November 2021, the series was renewed for a fourth season, subtitled End Times, which premiered on July 10, 2023. In November 2023, the series was canceled after four seasons.

Premise
In the first season, Craig is a low-level angel responsible for handling all of humanity's prayers, and Eliza is a recent transfer from the Department of Dirt. Their boss, God, has checked out to focus on his favorite hobbies. To prevent Earth's destruction, Craig and Eliza must achieve their most impossible miracle to date. The season is based on Rich's novel What in God's Name.

The second season is set during the Dark Ages and is based on Rich's short story "Revolution".

In the third season, Reverend Ezekiel Brown leads his dying, famine-stricken town for a better life on the Oregon Trail, taking in notorious outlaw Benny the Teen as trail master.

In the fourth season, taking place in a postnuclear apocalyptic world, Road Warrior Sid and Warlord Freya Exaltada, along with their War Dog Scraps, leave behind the ravaging Wasteland for a more normal life in Boomtown.

Season 1

 * John Reynolds as Mason
 * Angela Kinsey as Gail, an angel in the Department of Angel Resources
 * Tim Meadows as Dave Shelby
 * Chris Parnell as God's Dad
 * Margaret Cho as God's Mom
 * Tituss Burgess as God's Brother

Season 2

 * Peter Serafinowicz as King Cragnoor the Heartless
 * Tony Cavalero as Ted Carpenter
 * Jessica Lowe as Mary Baker
 * Jamie Demetriou as Town crier
 * Kevin Dunn as Bert Shitshoveler
 * Fred Armisen as Percival Forthwind
 * Kerri Kenney-Silver as Lila
 * Greta Lee as Princess Vicki

Season 3

 * Shay Mitchell as Purple
 * Jordan Firstman as Kaya
 * Carl Tart as Lionel
 * Tim Meadows as Jedidiah Noonan
 * Erin Darke as Phaedra
 * Jessica Lowe as Branchwater tavern host
 * Ron Funches as Dirty Dick Bob
 * Karamo Brown as American Patriot
 * Bobby Moynihan as Governor Lane
 * Paul F. Tompkins as Snake Oil Salesman

Season 4

 * Ithamar Enriquez as Devon
 * Erin Darke as Holly
 * David Dastmalchian as Ugulus Sleeze
 * Annie Mumolo as Linda Sherman
 * Lisa Loeb as singer
 * Jon Daly as Dr. Crazybrainz
 * Garcelle Beauvais as Freya's mother
 * Tim Heidecker as Freya's father
 * Paul F. Tompkins as Percy
 * Ego Nwodim as Belinda
 * Kyle Mooney as John Christ
 * Sasha Compère as Julia
 * Lolly Adefope as NeuralNet

Development
On May 17, 2017, TBS announced that it had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of seven episodes. The series was created by Simon Rich and based on his novel What in God's Name. Executive producers were expected to include Rich, Lorne Michaels, Andrew Singer, Daniel Radcliffe, and Owen Wilson. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Broadway Video and Studio T. On October 19, 2017, it was announced that Wilson would no longer be serving as an executive producer and would be replaced with Steve Buscemi.

On May 15, 2019, the series was renewed for a second season. On November 20, 2019, it was announced that the second season, titled Miracle Workers: Dark Ages, would premiere on January 28, 2020. On August 6, 2020, the series was renewed for a third season that will focus on the Wild West and Oregon Trail. On May 19, 2021, it was announced that the third season, titled Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail, would premiere on July 13, 2021.

On November 3, 2021, TBS renewed the series for a fourth season. On October 27, 2022, it was announced that the fourth season, titled End Times, would premiere on January 16, 2023. On January 16, 2023, TBS quietly postponed the season premiere to a date yet to be announced later in the year. That same day, the first episode of End Times was released on HBO Max in some countries. However, the episode did not air on TBS in the U.S. that week as previously scheduled and was removed from HBO Max two days later, with the remainder of the season delayed indefinitely. According to a spokesperson for TBS, Miracle Workers was "one of the impacted series" in a January scheduling adjustment. The network said the scheduling shift would allow TBS to "better support the series later in the year." On May 31, 2023, it was announced that the fourth season would premiere on July 10, 2023. On November 21, 2023, it was announced that the series was canceled after four seasons.

Casting
Alongside the initial series order announcement, it was confirmed that Daniel Radcliffe and Owen Wilson would star in the series. On October 19, 2017, it was announced Steve Buscemi had replaced Wilson in the role of God after the latter had decided to vacate the part. In November 2017, Deadline Hollywood and Variety reported that Geraldine Viswanathan, Jon Bass, Karan Soni, and Sasha Compère had been cast in series regular roles. On March 25, 2018, it was announced that Lolly Adefope had joined the cast in a main role. On May 27, 2021, Quinta Brunson joined in a recurring role for the third season.

Filming
Principal photography for the first season took place in December 2017 and January 2018 in and around Atlanta, Georgia. Filming took place in Norcross, Georgia, on December 29, 2017, and in Piedmont Park on January 16, 2018.

Release
On December 4, 2018, TBS announced that the series would premiere on February 12, 2019. On January 26, 2019, the series held a screening of the pilot episode during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Those in attendance included Daniel Radcliffe, Geraldine Viswanathan, Karan Soni, and Simon Rich. On February 8, 2019, TBS released the first episode of the series on its official YouTube channel. In Australia, the series has same day release on the streaming service Stan as a Stan Exclusive.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 74% based on reviews from 39 critics, with an average rating of 6.26/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "More charming than clever, Miracle Workers functions as a palatable showcase of Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi's quirky star power." On Metacritic it has a score of 61 out of 100 based on reviews from 19 critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 78% based on reviews from 9 critics, with an average rating of 5.60/10.

Accolade
Radcliffe was nominated for Choice Comedy TV Actor for his work on the series at the 2019 Teen Choice Awards.