Prosper

I attended Hillsong Church in Sydney for 6 years and this is a very accurate portrayal and quite insightful. The writers have obviously done their research, and it's quite surprising how on point they are! The thinly veiled George Aghajanian (HS general manager) character (Eli) is particularly accurate. It must have taken some good research to reveal the type of person he is, considering how guarded they can be.

The series also depicts Brian Houston (Cal) very well, highlighting his struggles with drugs, money, power, infidelity, and his overall disingenuousness. They did well to show the 'wizard' behind the curtain. I guess this is the problem with all rich 'celebrity' pastors, where eventually their growing hubris gives them a self-rationalised clear conscience to break ethical and Biblical boundaries. Congregants are isolated and marginalised as the money raising intensifies and people at the top get rich. Eventually this same hubris brings them tumbling down.

There is also the exploitation of staff, volunteers and Hillsong College students, which has led to a revolving door of burned out, disillusioned assistant pastors, leaders and church members.

Don't get me wrong, Pentecostal/Charismatic churches are a real true blessing (so maybe don't binge-watch this?). Technically, any church that has a membership of over 1500 people is a "megachurch", but if you happen to be a member of a charismatic megachurch this series will help you be more critical and less naïve; simply because of the large amounts of tax-free money changing hands with no external accountability.

It should also motivate you to question and hold to account the ethics of any large Pentecostal/Charismatic church (regardless of size) that mimics/models the methodology of Hillsong. Question your Pastor's motivation and ethics. Check the percentage of tithing actually going directly to the needy and not just 'building funds' and hidden tax-free fringe benefits for elite leaders and payments to/from your pastors to reciprocating guest speakers.

Definitely worth watching but please don't let it turn you off finding a good, ethical Bible-based Pentecostal/Charismatic church to attend!! But if you are already attending one as a congregant and you feel you are either being marginalised, disconnected or exploited, then you should probably find another church.

Accurate and powerful, the exposes people who who they are and portrays man's follies. The church is bigger than the people who run it, however is it? The people who run become the focus and is this spiritual or real greed? The Bentleys, private jets and helicopters, the Sydney Harbour cliff top views, the clothes and cash- is this what God would want, or is this man tricking mass people. As a Christian watching this I found it uncomfortable and accurate in sections and is so well written and acted. Brilliant Aussie drama at its best, I do have trouble not seeing Roger Rogerston and Mrs Ratter, however what talents they are ! Loved this show.

Prosper is blessed with an outstanding cast of respected Australian actors and is based on a timely and relevant premise given the unsettling influence megachurches and pentecostal Christianity more broadly claim to wield in many secular societies, despite their overall insignificant numbers.

However as an ex-Pentecostal with an all too familiar understanding of the whys and wherefores of that strange world, I feel Prosper's writers and actors would have benefited from developing a deeper knowledge and understanding of the language, cultures and idiosyncrasies of both the on-stage performances of celebrity preachers and the jargon and deluded self-assurance that those people employ in their everyday lives.

There are definitely moments in Prosper where Richard Roxburgh's talents as an actor are allowed to truly shine, particularly during some of Cal's darker moments. But when Cal is "in character" as a celebrity man of god in front of his congregation or praying on his own, his portrayal becomes more wooden and inauthentic. Rebecca Gibney is in fully Lady Macbeth mode for much of the series which I think is also a missed opportunity given the public role of the typical Pastor's wife in this world is to be a happy, shiny accessory. More juxtaposition between the persona and the person would have made her character richer and given Gibney a wider repertoire to work with.

My other reservation with this show is the number of subplots going on in each episode. Some end up feeling undercooked as a result. I would have preferred to see a slower build and more nuance and more tension around fewer threads of the story.

Hopefully if a second series is made, the will be opportunity to bring on writers or consultants who really, truly know how the murky world of pentecostalism works and thereby add a sorely needed layer of authentic credibility to this show which will reduce some of the cringe.

When the trailers for this series first started to come out, I was skeptical at first as it seemed to be taking the approach of attacking the church and villainising modern Christians rather than presenting a balanced view of the current state of the modern church today.

As a man of faith myself, also processing the realities of faith and belief, I found this series pleasantly surprising. It masterfully takes on many of the current cultural issues of Christian Churches developed in the western world and the reality of creating more harm than good, despite the best intentions, as we see very human and relatable characters throughout, especially if you have ever spent any significant time in a mega church.

For one, they nail the culture of these types of churches, from the theological perspectives, to the buildings, the little nuances in rituals, and even some of the more unpleasant cliche's of Head Pastors with a dysfunctional family. The acting and cinematography is stellar, and the message conveyed by the end of it I think is very important, although uncomfortable for some modern Christians who may still feel compelled to defend the churches they dedicate themselves to. All in all, this is certainly a very niche topic, but brilliantly made and informative, thumbs up from me.

Right off the bat I will say this is one of the slickest looking Australian shows I have seen. It looks expensive and I suspect it probably is.

Five minutes in it was clear the writers and producers are big fans of Succession as the family dynamics are very similar, though in this show the setting is a Sydney mega church. Most Australians will appreciate the direct associations with the Hillsong church right down to the fictional Bieber-esque pop star. There's also a bit of Jim Baker in the Roxburgh character, who is something of a cliche when it comes to the US megachurch culture.

For these reasons I felt I have seen the story before. But the pacing is fast and the performances are very good so it's a positive review from me all up, even if I wanted more originality.