Prosper

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.

Enjoyable, all to poignant depiction of an evangelical church. So much glitz and glamour, with Rebecca Gibney once more displaying excellence in her character portrayal of the family Matriach.

Richard Roxborough managed to convince me that he indeed thinks God speaks to him and he has deep seated beliefs that he is making the world a better place despite being so flawed.

I can see links to Hillsong, Sheila and the oOrange people to name two.

Great music, written by great local musicians.

Characters are so extremely and wonderfully flawed

Everyone has their own agendas and foibles.

I certainly hope there will be a season two.

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.

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.

This show took my surprise, firstly with the quality of cast involved & secondly, the timeliness of the subject matter. The focus on the inner workings of a commercial church provide a "fictional" & credible insight into such organisations.

The quality of the script & the "master-class" interpretation & delivery of the script by Richard & Rebecca was a true testament to Australia's uniquely gifted actors. Ewen Leslie & Jacob Collins-Levy were stand-outs from the supporting cast, with Ewen's portrayal of a highly conflicted heir apparent living in his fathers shadow delivering a truly remarkable insight into the mental anguish of the character. Jacob delivers a brilliant performance of being both caring son but also the skeptic mirroring the views of many who will enjoy the benefit of this great series.

Lets hope they can secure the same quality cast for Season 2 🤞🏻