Everyone Else Burns

If you were brought up in a cult Christian religion then you'll have an "in" to what's going on. I don't think it's based on any one cult but is a very clever mix of several that I'm aware of and grew up in. E.g. The cult I was associated with did discourage going to college and encouraged full time door to door ministry.

This series though adds humour to the situation and although the elder arrangement appears made up. Heck it cuts close to home especially the controls exerted and gossiping by elders wives.

My wife and I crack up with the dating ritual and ducking down to avoid being seen unshaperoned. That is true to life LOL.

Exploring an extreme of cultist religion, Everyone Else Burns feels fresh and funny, and as the series progresses it really blossoms into some heartfelt developments.

Not entirely unpredictable, but paced well and the tension caused by the differing character traits within the family gives off some great (awful) chemistry. It is a little slow to begin with, but once each family member's wants and needs become apparent, its easy to become invested in the storyline.

To an extreme where every belief, action and scenario grows into something silly, the straight performances do provide the laughs, which eases through plot arcs which can be intentionally frustrating. It takes a little time to get into (which isn't ideal for a 6-episode series) but once it all clicks, Everyone Else Burns is truly enjoyable.

This spankingly new comedy from Dillon Mapletoft and Oliver Taylor (themselves quite new) is a functional little slice of familial and theological ribbing. It's not reinventing many comedy wheels and some of the side plots and characters are a little sketched-out, shallow or unfinished but there's some solid 'twists' (if you can call them that in a sitcom), quite a few surreal asides, and a genuinely effective character arc or two in here. The focus is mostly on the family so it doesn't feel too punch-downy on the little fish of the evangelical world, but it's lack of specificity makes it feel oddly toothless. I'd be interested to see what another series could add to it.

Being raised a Jehovah's Witness and leaving 2 years ago I found this sitcom hilarious and surprisingly accurate. The writers must of also been raised in the religion because there were so many small querks that you'd only know if you lived through it first hand. I'm not sure how well people from a different background will understand the niche jokes but I couldn't stop laughing. I thought they did a really good job of balancing the hilarious side of some of the rules and also the seriousness of it and how it affects people's family. I like how they changed just enough details so as not to get sued by them! I hope they return for series 2!!

Good scripts and a fine premise. A parody of Jehovah's Witnesses and various hard line Christian sects. A talented cast that is let down by Simon Bird who is only capable of rehashing the same character seen in In-betweens. He's got no other range and it takes the whole story line into comedy cliché, where as all the other cast are quite rightly playing the characters much straighter and therefore stronger.

Shame. He was poorly cast. I may stick with it but it's borderline because he continually ruins the plots with his pantomime over acting. Hopefully future casting directors will take note and we won't see him for a while.