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. In October 2014, Hand of God was ordered to full series by Amazon Studios.
The series officially premiered on September 4, 2015. A second season was ordered in December 2015, which premiered on March 10, 2017. On September 15, 2016, Amazon Studios announced that the series would end after the second season.

Plot

Hand of God follows Pernell Harris, a corrupt judge who suffers a breakdown and believes God is compelling him onto a path of vigilante justice. He becomes a born-again Christian and joins an evangelical church, Hand of God.

Cast

Main

Season 1 (2014–2015)

Season 2 (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, while receiving a 7.5 out of 10 on IMDb, and an 8.2/10 from IGN. The average rating on TV.com is 8.3 out of 10 based on 33 ratings.
Emily VanDerWerff of Vox called the show "mind-bogglingly bad". Mike Hale of The New York Times wrote that it "loses its focus" and that it feels "attenuated and static". Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times gave the series a negative review, writing that it had great acting but "little else". David Sims of The Atlantic wrote that the climax of the series didn't "justify 10 depressing hours of television". Alternately, Robert Rorke of the NY Post called the show "oddly compelling", while Tirdad Derakhshani of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "It's such an engaging, original, quirky, and thought-provoking drama, it should be seen."