A Thoughtful Takedown of the Christian TV Show “The Dream Motel”

A few years ago, the Christian film company Pure Flix began its own streaming service as a kind of Christian alternative to Netflix. But just like Christian movies, the offerings were nothing more than low-budget, poorly acted versions of the real thing. (What else would you expect from the people who brought you God’s Not Dead?)

One of the shows on that service — also streaming on Amazon — was The Dream Motel.

It’s a show about people who visit a motel run by “Jesse Chris” (because Christian media is incapable of subtlety)… who works in mysterious ways and shows the characters why they need to worship and follow the Christian God.

But instead of watching that show, just watch this thoughtful rundown from YouTuber Big Joel, who calls it the “worst Christian show” he’s ever seen. Which is saying something.

Here’s how you know the criticism is thoughtful: Joel isn’t just bashing the show. He even compliments some of the aspects of it. It’s all the more reason we should pay attention when he points out a character used as a Christian “prop,” the shortcomings in the scripts, the hypocrisy in the morality, etc.

It’s almost amazing that a Christian show made for a Christian audience — presumably without much creative interference — still couldn’t break out of the norms we’ve come to expect from that genre. It’s tedious, one-dimensional, and the sort of thing the writers must have figured they could get away with by virtue of the Christian hammer waiting for every viewer.