Hand of God (TV series)
Hand of God is an American drama web television series created by Ben Watkins. The premiere episode is one of two drama pilots that Amazon streamed online in August 2014, along with Hysteria. Viewers were allowed to offer their opinions about the pilot before the studio decided whether or not to place an order for the entire series.[2] In October 2014, Hand of God was ordered to full series by Amazon Studios.[3]
| Hand of God | |
|---|---|
 Title screen from season two | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Ben Watkins |
| Starring | |
| Opening theme | "An Honest Man", performed by Fantastic Negrito |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Production location | Los Angeles |
| Running time | 45–66 min[1] |
| Production companies |
|
| Distributor | Amazon Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | Prime Video |
| Original release | August 28, 2014 – March 10, 2017 |
The series officially premiered on September 4, 2015. A second season was ordered in December 2015, which premiered on March 10, 2017.[4] On September 15, 2016, Amazon Studios announced that the series would end after the second season.[5]
Plot
Hand of God follows Pernell Harris (Ron Perlman), a corrupt judge who suffers a breakdown and believes God is compelling him onto a path of vigilante justice. He believes he becomes a born-again Christian and a member of an evangelical church, Hand of God, but in actuality becomes a deceived member of a dangerous cult.
Cast
Main
- Ron Perlman as Pernell Harris
- Dana Delany as Crystal Harris
- Andre Royo as Robert "Bobo" Boston
- Garret Dillahunt as KD
- Alona Tal as Jocelyn Harris
- Emayatzy Corinealdi as Tessie Graham
- Julian Morris as Paul Curtis
- Elizabeth McLaughlin as Alicia Hopkins
Recurring
- Johnny Ferro as PJ Harris (Pernell Jr.)
- Cleavon McClendon as Asa Boston
- Maximiliano Hernández as Chief Toby Clay
- Jimmy Ray Bennett as Nathan Brooks
- Elaine Tan as Anne Wu
- Erykah Badu as April
- Jon Tenney as Nick Tramble
- Hunter Parrish as Josh Miller
- Nia Long as Izzy
- Sandy Martin as Randy
- Tommy Day Carey as Detective Warren
- Anthony Starke as DA Gilbert McCauley
- Camryn Manheim as Dr. Langston
- Linda Gray as Aunt Val
- Brian Baumgartner as Dr. Olonari
- Guy Burnet as Raymond Kelly
- Eric J. Krueger as Adam Rieders
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | ||||
| 1 | 10 | August 28, 2014 | September 4, 2015 | ||
| 2 | 10 | March 10, 2017 | |||
Season 1 (2014–2015)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Marc Forster | Ben Watkins | August 28, 2014 |
| 2 | "Your Inside Voice" | Marc Forster | Ben Watkins | September 4, 2015 |
| 3 | "Contemplating the Body" | Richard J. Lewis | Ben Watkins & Daniel Tuch | September 4, 2015 |
| 4 | "He So Loved" | Sarah Pia Anderson | Becky Hartman Edwards | September 4, 2015 |
| 5 | "Welcome the Stranger" | Ernest R. Dickerson | Sam Forman | September 4, 2015 |
| 6 | "For the Rain to Gather" | Andrew Bernstein | Deborah Schoeneman | September 4, 2015 |
| 7 | "A Bird in Hand" | Peter Medak | Mark Hudis (teleplay and story by) and Ali Garfinkel (story by) | September 4, 2015 |
| 8 | "One Saved Message" | Mario Van Peebles | Ben Watkins & Ben Cory Jones | September 4, 2015 |
| 9 | "A Flower That Bees Prefer" | Stephen Williams | Theresa Rebeck | September 4, 2015 |
| 10 | "The Tie That Binds" | Brad Anderson | Ben Watkins | September 4, 2015 |
Season 2 (2017)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Gathering Dust" | Mario Van Peebles | Ben Watkins & Jim Dunn | March 9, 2017 |
| 2 | "Telling Me Your Dreams" | Peter Medak | Ben Watkins & Sam Ernst | March 9, 2017 |
| 3 | "We Can't Go Back" | Christine Moore | Michael Angeli | March 9, 2017 |
| 4 | "Not Writing a Love Letter" | Sarah Pia Anderson | Daniel Tuch | March 9, 2017 |
| 5 | "I See That Now" | Ali Selim | Shernold Edwards | March 9, 2017 |
| 6 | "What Do You Hear..." | Stephen Surjik | Dawn Kamoche & Ariella Blejer | March 9, 2017 |
| 7 | "When You Pull the Trigger" | Tim Hunter | Ben Watkins (teleplay by) & Michael Angeli (teleplay by), and Michael Kastelein (story by) & Chris Wu (story by) | March 9, 2017 |
| 8 | "The Last Thing Left" | Kate Woods | Jim Dunn | March 9, 2017 |
| 9 | "What a Man Can Be" | Peter Medak | Sam Ernst | March 9, 2017 |
| 10 | "He Must Be" | Ben Watkins | Ben Watkins | March 9, 2017 |
Reception
The series has received mixed reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the first season has a metascore of 44 out of 100 based on 19 critics reviews but has a user score of 6.9 out of 10 based on 32 ratings,[6] while receiving a 7.5 out of 10 on IMDb,[7] and an 8.2/10 from IGN.[8] The average rating on TV.com is 8.3 out of 10 based on 33 ratings.[9]
Emily VanDerWerff of Vox called the show "mind-bogglingly bad".[10] Mike Hale of The New York Times wrote that it "loses its focus" and that it feels "attenuated and static".[11] Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times gave the series a negative review, writing that it had great acting but "little else".[12] David Sims of The Atlantic wrote that the climax of the series didn't "justify 10 depressing hours of television".[13] Alternately, Robert Rorke of the NY Post called the show "oddly compelling",[14] while Tirdad Derakhshani of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "It's such an engaging, original, quirky, and thought-provoking drama, it should be seen."[15]
References
- "Hand of God". Amazon.com. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- Jarvey, Natalie (August 11, 2014). "Amazon Studios Sets August Premiere for Third Group of Pilots". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- Lewis, Hilary (October 3, 2014). "Amazon Picks Up Full Series of 'Hand of God' and Steven Soderbergh's 'Red Oaks'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
- Andreeva, Nellie (December 18, 2015). "Amazon Picks Up 5 New Primetime Series & 3 Kids Series, Renews 'Red Oaks' & 'Hand Of God'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
- Petski, Denise (September 15, 2016). "Amazon's 'Hand Of God' To End After Season 2". Retrieved September 17, 2016.
- "Hand of God : Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- "IMDB Hand of God rating page". IMDB. October 13, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
- Nicholson, Max (September 4, 2015). "Hand of God: Season 1 Review". IGN. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
- TV.com. "Hand of God". TV.com. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
- VanDerWerff, Emily (September 6, 2015). "Amazon's new series Hand of God is excruciatingly terrible television". Vox. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
- Hale, Mike (September 3, 2015). "Review: 'Hand of God,' on Amazon, Is a California Neo-Noir Thriller". The New York Times. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
- McNamara, Mary (September 3, 2015). "Amazon's 'Hand of God' features miraculous acting, but little else". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
- Sims, David (September 4, 2015). "Hand of God: A Dark, Violent, Vigilante Drama About Religion". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
- Rorke, Robert (September 2, 2015). "Far-fetched 'Hand of God' is Oddly Compelling". New York Post. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
- Derakhshani, Tirdad (September 4, 2015). "Amazon's 'Hand of God' a fascinating, if uneven religious satire". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
External links
- Hand of God at IMDb