Drama
Testament
Angel Studios’ Testament is a, ahem, testament to the incredible acts of Jesus’ earliest followers as it follows their stories after Jesus.
Few have ruined their lives as much as Nell. She abandoned her life to follow a cute guy to the United Kingdom. And when it didn’t work out, she found herself back in the States, jobless and down on her luck, without a single pair of clean clothes to wear. But at least she’s still alive!
That reminder is a bit more evident now, ever since her friend helped her to get her old job back at the SoCal Independent—writing obituaries for the paper. It’s not the most glamorous of beats to write, but a job’s a job, so Nell gets to writing on her first one about some guy named Monty.
And that’s when Monty appears in her home.
“Don’t you come any closer or I will kill you,” Nell threatens.
“Don’t bother,” Monty responds. “I’m already dead.”
ABC’s Not Dead Yet brings forth a unique idea—what if a journalist who writes obituaries could see the ghosts of those she was writing about?
But, much like these spectral visitors, the show doesn’t really come alive. In fact, it falls into the graves of the many comedies that came before it—focusing too much on party culture and jokes about sex that end up distracting from what might have been a compelling plot. Nell’s yet another protagonist who gets intoxicated weekend by weekend surrounded by a supporting cast who are primarily there to offer snarky remarks.
The saving grace of this show is the kind advice the spirits offer to Nell, which tend to focus on appreciating life or encouraging Nell to get better as a person. But that payoff isn’t exactly worth sitting through the tired issues the show contains.
Not Dead Yet might be a new series, but unless someone breathes new life into it, we can’t imagine it’ll be long before it has its own epitaph.
Nell begins her job writing obituaries for the SoCal Independent, and her life becomes much more complicated when her first deceased subject appears to her.
Nell complains about not having any remaining clean underwear to wear. Nell’s friend, Sam, talks about how she misses flashing her breasts since they’re now “used for feeding people.” Nell mistakes a breast pump for an airhorn. A man says that “the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.” Nell’s friends give her condoms and scratch tickets for her birthday, and Nell blows the condoms up into balloons. Nell wears a low-cut shirt.
Nell kicks an empty can of hard seltzer. She asks if it’d help a social interaction if she acted hungover or was hungover. Nell jokes about throwing a party with kegs of alcohol, and she takes a shot and drinks alcohol with friends at a bar. We’re later informed that she had five cocktails and had half of a marijuana gummy. A man talks about giving LSD to people. Two women insult each other, one of them calling the other a “sloppy drunk.”
A ghost mentions dying of prostate cancer. Nell hits nearby cars with her car door. A ghost asks if he’s in hell, and Nell responds, “If you’re with me, probably.”
God’s name is abused nine times. “A–” is used three times, and “b–ch” and “d–n” are used once.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Angel Studios’ Testament is a, ahem, testament to the incredible acts of Jesus’ earliest followers as it follows their stories after Jesus.
Based on novel by Jenny Han, this series follows the complex love life of Belly, a young girl caught between two boys who are childhood friends as she joins the world of debutantes.
This lighthearted cartoon is a clean, wholesome option for younger viewers craving a mystery.
Young viewers should perhaps run around this Prime Video show about some perpetually inebriated wannabe rock stars.
