The Midnight Gospel

:

Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Apr 20, 2020
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 60 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 60
  3. Negative: 8 out of 60
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User Reviews

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  1. SimboTheKing
    May 2, 2020
    8
    The midnight gospel is a trippy animation that explores many philosophical topics such as death and spirituality. It is clearly influenced by psycedelics both in its topics and its animation. I must say that I quite like the show but I can see it not being for everyone. Some episodes are very new-age spirituality so if you're not into that scene it's probably worth skipping.

    Personally,    The midnight gospel is a trippy animation that explores many philosophical topics such as death and spirituality. It is clearly influenced by psycedelics both in its topics and its animation. I must say that I quite like the show but I can see it not being for everyone. Some episodes are very new-age spirituality so if you're not into that scene it's probably worth skipping.

    Personally, it connected with me as I'm into this sort of culture and although some episodes didn't connect (episode 3 off the top of my head) I think there is some important lessons to be found in this series. It reminds me of Adult Swim cartoons which is in no ways a bad thing. The animation is gorgeous and the music is really good. Overall, I'd say this is a far from perfect series but it feels earnest and has enough going for it that I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in experimental and trippy shows.    … Expand
  2. TheUrbanPunk
    Apr 22, 2020
    10
    Absolutely do not sleep on this. It's such a beautiful show. Perfect amount of weird, psychedelic, and sentiment.
  3. SolRacRG
    Apr 24, 2020
    9
    I like this tendency to share complex topics in such human and wonderful ways. This show is the apotheosis of that.
  4. notor12
    Apr 21, 2020
    10
    The animation here is really more of a supplement for the experience of the content of the interviews. This show is designed not so much for viewing as for listening. The interviews capture a wide range of perspectives on life from different celebrities and speak to their understandings of life's core questions of spirituality and human purpose.

    The show overdoes it a little bit    The animation here is really more of a supplement for the experience of the content of the interviews. This show is designed not so much for viewing as for listening. The interviews capture a wide range of perspectives on life from different celebrities and speak to their understandings of life's core questions of spirituality and human purpose.

    The show overdoes it a little bit sometimes, but it's good enough to deliver the message.
    What I find so fascinating about this show is how well it demonstrates how everyone is different and their beliefs are different and how they got where they are is different, but there is some sort of core commonality in everything you hear throughout that you can't quite place, which rests just on the tip of your perception.....

    Something you cannot quite fully grasp or encapsulate into words, that you struggle to define for others. And you hear in every interview that others struggle to define it too, and from that struggle to define it emerges the differences in what you are hearing. But you get the sense what they are trying to describe is actually the same.

    And you know, inherently in some deep part of yourself, that the thing they are attempting to describe (through their imperfect observation) is something critical to the very notion of being alive.

    What I hear again and again is that the concept of one's "self" is, in our great confusion, formed by one's own thoughts. Thoughts which are attempting to shape a unique identity to our being distinct from others and the Universe around us because we feel that we must be a unique individual who can control the world and make things happen for us. We think that is how other people are too.
    And that in our confused efforts to define ourselves this way, we actually create selfishness when it is not the natural order. Selfishness which is actually harmful to our "selves" and to others.

    That is our common delusion, where the reality of this Universe is that all of us are both part and parcel to the entire universal system that surrounds us while at the same time being capable of observing that system through our sensory perceptions and consciousness. The reason selfishness is such a burden on the mind, body, and spirit is because it is not true, and the reason the selflessness, caring, and love are so freeing is because it alleviates us of the delusion and obsession with self.

    My perspective, anyways.    … Expand
  5. Colem
    Apr 20, 2020
    10
    Beautiful artwork. Beautiful spirit. Each episode is a self-contained adventure for our protagonist through a different collapsing alternate universe. The visual stimulation and philosophical discussion are equally stimulating to the point that I found myself pleasantly shifting my primary focus from the discussion to the animation when one or the other reached a maximum stimulus capacity.Beautiful artwork. Beautiful spirit. Each episode is a self-contained adventure for our protagonist through a different collapsing alternate universe. The visual stimulation and philosophical discussion are equally stimulating to the point that I found myself pleasantly shifting my primary focus from the discussion to the animation when one or the other reached a maximum stimulus capacity. Makes for good second and third viewings. The final episode is nothing short of high art, and an incredible achievement when you realize that audio is from an actual archived podcast episode of the co-creator. I don't want to spoil it, but suffice it to say, it is alone worth the cost of entry.… Expand
  6. Auuizy
    Apr 21, 2020
    9
    Experimentar es algo muy humano, siento que así es como una revolución comienza, esto es algo que nunca se había visto antes ...este show es como el pensamiento mismo, voces en tu cabeza que se escapan en tus vastas ideas... Filosofía deliberativa.... Libertad
  7. OlivierPiel
    May 1, 2020
    0
    I gave up 5 minutes in. I couldn't pass the neurotic navel-gazing and the insufferable spitfire inane dialogues.
  8. seel82
    Apr 24, 2020
    3
    This isn't particularly good, too bad cause it looks like it has all the tools to be. But it just isn't. There's no coherence, no story, and no reason to care about the discussion.
  9. FatLadRoss
    Apr 22, 2020
    2
    Oh my god! I sat down with my daughter (we both loved adventure time) and just stared at the screen for the first 10 minutes. We looked at each other, shrugged shoulders, asked why there was a tiny president and then what an earth where the monotone ramblings in the background all about. (Turns out it was about drugs, how cutting edge!)

    I then looked deeper in to what this was all    Oh my god! I sat down with my daughter (we both loved adventure time) and just stared at the screen for the first 10 minutes. We looked at each other, shrugged shoulders, asked why there was a tiny president and then what an earth where the monotone ramblings in the background all about. (Turns out it was about drugs, how cutting edge!)

    I then looked deeper in to what this was all about, I now realise it's a podcast with animation over the top. Unfortunately neither the podcast or the overlaying animation offer anything worth sticking around for. The ramblings of the podcast are boring, it fades in to background noise while you watch the poorly drawn animation that goes nowhere and ultimately adds nothing to the context of the podcast.

    On the scale of 'I want to be cool and like this because I feel like I should' I give this 137 out of 10.

    In summary, pretentious claptrap that can only be enjoyed while off one's box on class A's.    … Expand
  10. bluewizardx
    Mar 12, 2021
    0
    The animation is great, but the content doesn't hold up. A lot of the dialogue is Eastern philosophy fetishism. The rest is recycled mysticism. It's all pretty meaningless when you get down to it.
  11. brockcheese
    Jan 25, 2021
    8
    This can be a difficult show to digest thanks to the esoteric nature of the conversations but once you let it wash over you it becomes a relaxing and meditative look at the human condition.
  12. kirkender
    Apr 29, 2020
    7
    Lower-fi and more psychedelic version of Waking Life / Cinema Verite / ??? Which, if you are into this kinda thing, it's pretty good. I am into this kinda thing, and it's pretty good. I find the concept to be quite engaging, and the content of the psychedelic weirdness to be top notch. I find issues with the quality of the animation, I want more frames per second because the deliciousLower-fi and more psychedelic version of Waking Life / Cinema Verite / ??? Which, if you are into this kinda thing, it's pretty good. I am into this kinda thing, and it's pretty good. I find the concept to be quite engaging, and the content of the psychedelic weirdness to be top notch. I find issues with the quality of the animation, I want more frames per second because the delicious weirdness needs more fluidity. (Also the cuts are very quick and there's not a lot of time to enjoy the weirdness) By the nature of the project it is wandering and naval gazing, but a bit more editing of the interviews for clarity would have helped.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

27
#27 Best TV Season of 2020
43
#43 Most Discussed TV Season of 2020
15
#15 Most Shared TV Season of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Darren Franich
    May 7, 2020
    100
    Gospel's not for kids, but it reflects the ecstatic innovations that made Adventure Time such a trip. Ward directs every episode and finds moments of religious astonishment alongside gloopy horror, all of it served with chatty humanism and palpable sweetness. ... The result is a new kind of masterpiece: easy to like, easier to worship.
    Read full review
  2. RogerEbert.com
    Reviewed by: Brian Tallerico
    Apr 23, 2020
    70
    It can be legitimately transcendent at times – Ward has so much creative energy that the frames burst with detail and Trussell is a great podcaster in terms of how much he truly engages with his subjects. It can also be damn overwhelming. I don’t recommend binging all eight because the onslaught of new age ideas and hyperactive visuals can be a bit much to take consecutively.
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  3. Decider
    Reviewed by: Joel Keller
    Apr 21, 2020
    70
    It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but The Midnight Gospel is fascinatingly strange, and if you listen to what is actually talked about, you may come away with some insight into the human condition.
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