Pulling off the near impossible with a silly smile

Published May 14, 2026

I recently found some unexpected gratification regarding the art of storytelling. As a filmmaker, I study and appreciate the process of taking a story idea and going through the many, many steps to convert it into what has evolved to be modern film.

Ironically, “film” no longer actually uses celluloid film most of the time. While that specific technical evolution is interesting, that will need to wait for another day. For now, I’m focused on something else – my unexpected positive surprise.

To be clear, I’m dragging you along through my thought process while deliberately breaking a general rule by not revealing my motivating topic until the end. Ultimately, it’s because that specific surprise isn’t actually the point. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the stream-of-consciousness journey and what prompted all of this.

I recently enjoyed watching something on TV that completely caught me off guard. I was surprised in a good way. And it got me thinking about how gratifying it can be to find something that you uniquely appreciate because it speaks to nuance and personal hard-earned experience.

Envision a welder with decades of experience finding a new welding mask that they’re excited about for reasons most would not appreciate. They didn’t think such a thing could evolve, but it did, surprising them. Or maybe a physical therapist learns some technique that makes each day better in some real way but also in a way that no one else would quickly understand. It’s these kinds of discoveries and our reactions I started pondering. So, the “unexpected good” is central to the following.

Next, here is my ultra-short abridged history of storytelling. At some point, we drew pictures on cave walls and sat around campfires spinning tales. At some point, this all started to codify human history. Writing eventually fixed these tales, allowing Aristotle to formalize the Three-Act Structure. The printing press democratized narratives, fostering the modern novel’s internal psychology.

By the 20th century, radio’s soundscapes and the Golden Age of film’s visual language refined the “Hero’s Journey” into a universal standard, eventually evolving into high-budget, cinematic TV series that redefined how many of us enjoy long-form character arcs.

And that’s just the mechanics of capturing and sharing some type of narrative. The content – the actual story – is still the point. And some stories are just harder than others. For this very reason, many filmmakers start their careers with low-budget horror films. Why? Well, they can be made cheaply with no-name actors and still turn a profit. More often than not, such films are a stepping stone.

What’s actually hard? Comedy. Many factors must align for comedy to work. Now, I’m not trying to compare comedies as being harder than something like Schindler’s List, but generally speaking, comedy is hard.

Likewise, I’ve found that religiously-oriented art is also dicey. Thus, comedy and religion together is extra dicey. Regardless, human creativity can lead to some great things that can make us laugh, cringe, and think more deeply. I really love that.

One of my favorite films is Life of Brian, the Monty Python film from the late-1970s that many Christians boycotted. Even though it was appropriately rated R and had a few truly problematic moments, the film’s gist only lampooned how religious people often make a mockery of the thing they claim to value. In this film’s case, they followed around a guy named Brian who was often mistaken for Christ. Making fun of “how people are” in that way merits five stars! Regardless of how you feel about that specific film, on a good day, the whole comedy+religion thing remains “dicey” or worse.

Now we’re getting close. But first, here’s a recap.

I study and value the difficult process of storytelling, especially in filmmaking, which now informs how TV series are made.
It’s especially cool when someone with specific expertise is surprised by something related to that expertise which is less-than-obvious to most.
Finally, religious-flavored comedy for the masses is typically much harder than most have ever pondered.

What surprised me? The first season of “The Promised Land” by Angel Studios. Am I trying to get you to watch it? Not really. But, in my opinion, they really threaded the needle.

On its face, it’s an absurd retelling of the Israelites in the desert, having just evaded the Egyptian army via the Red Sea. Believe me, it’s silly! They are clearly leaning into the absurd.

Immediately, the “you’re not treating the Bible with respect” crowd shows up over your shoulder. But, for now, let’s just let them stew over there by themselves. God bless them.

Here’s the deal. I’m not a big fan of “silly” humor. However, that approach is helpful for addressing a problem from a filmmaker’s perspective. How do you depict hundreds of thousands of people in the desert? In this case, the producers take the largest group of extras they can pull together and then always ensure they “spill off the page” to imply more people. In an absurd comedy, it totally works. Problem solved. And, one production problem after another, their solutions work because the whole thing is absurd.

But finally, it’s about the people – a handful of beloved characters like Moses who is, of course, the central character. Are we going to make fun of him?! Absolutely. But here’s the final bit of magic sauce that surprised me. These producers humanized the entire cast while interjecting truly heartfelt and honest truths of the Christian faith. Not watered down. Hard hitting bits of faith, hope, transformation, and love.

Although I rolled my eyes constantly throughout the initial season, by the conclusion of the season I found myself genuinely moved and connected. Dang! I totally didn’t see that coming.

This article is not me starting a shift away from my typical topics. However, I felt compelled to highlight this kind of creativity that accomplishes something very difficult and does it well. It is yet another part of human innovation worthy of praise. But remember, I warned you that it’s corny.

The series has been described as if “The Chosen” and “The Office” had a baby. That’s a good description. But that wouldn’t have explained why my discovery of this series was personally so hard hitting, unexpected, and ultimately gratifying.

And beyond this, let’s see what’s next!

J Matt Wallace