The Midnight Gospel: Opening the Doors For Spiritual Conversation
The Midnight Gospel, Netflix (2020)
One of the most recent Netflix Originals to be released is Duncan Trussell’s animated series, The Midnight Gospel. As someone who does not tend to watch adult cartoons, I initially ignored Netflix’s insistence that this show was “Recommended for Jill” and brushed it off as an adventure saga that I wouldn’t enjoy. However, the bubblegum pink, witch hat wearing main character I would soon know as Clancy stuck in my mind and it wasn’t long before I started to see him popping up on my Instagram explore page, in various Snapchat stories, and as a recommendation from some of my more spiritually-inclined friends. Taking this collection of instances as a sign from the universe, the next time I logged on to Netflix I left my most recent episode of Skins half-watched and decided to give The Midnight Gospel a try.
Upon starting episode one, the twisting, galactic universe of the show immediately entranced me. While the animation style feels similar to that of Adventure Time, it feels like the animators of the show took things a step further with gradients, neons, and pastels. Watching Midnight Gospel there was never a moment I could forget that animation is truly an art form.
Each episode follows the aforementioned Clancy, voiced and created by Ducan Trussell, as he uses a glitchy universe simulator to travel to different planets on a hunt to record interviews for his “spacecast,” a multiverse podcast of sorts. These interviews cover subjects ranging from consciousness to human connection to manifestation to being present and serve as the very heart of Midnight Gospel’s unique appeal.
Although each episode can be understood without the context of the others, watching through the series in order reveals that Clancy’s adventures are serving as a distraction and means to escape a larger problem he’s facing, coming to terms with his mother’s death. In the final episode of season one, Clancy has a conversation with his mother about death; however, he is no longer referred to as Clancy but instead, as Duncan. In this moment of unity between actor and character, the viewer understands that the show is much more than a thoughtful cartoon, it is a reflection of Ducan Trussell’s grieving process and personal growth journey. It is a TV show, podcast, journal, and art piece all rolled into one.
One of the most important nuances of the show is the independent nature of the story’s audio and visual components. Because the conversations between Clancy and his spacecast subjects are pulled recordings from Trussell’s podcast The Duncan Trussell Family Hour, they don’t reference the animated world of the show. So while you may be seeing Clancy and his interviewee occupied with a high-action chase across whatever planet they are on, you are hearing an uninterrupted conversation about coming to terms with death. Although it is an unconventional format, by keeping its visual and audio elements disconnected, the show can provide a psychedelic visual adventure while also maintaining the deep and thoughtful conversation of a podcast.
Because these conversations are never dumbed-down, edited, or laden with quirky encouragements, it is clear Midnight Gospel values its audience as smart, thoughtful individuals. This is without a doubt what I love most about this show. It trusts that its audience is fully capable of connecting to media that grapples with eternal and universal human questions. The show does not seek to merely entertain its watchers but rather, challenge them.
In this same vein, Midnight Gospel does a fantastic job of opening the doors for its viewers to bring spiritual conversation into their own lives. While Clancy and his guests do get deep into thoughtful conversation, these interactions are presented in a mindful, digestible way that invites the audience in, rather than making them feel out-of-the-loop or excluded. Moreover, the show does not spend the bulk of its time on any one subject but rather presents a sample-platter of ideas that all humans can relate to. There is something everyone can gain.
By being courageously open with his own experiences, Ducan Trussell has created something not yet seen in the television world: a vibrant guide to exploring the deepest questions of the human soul. The Midnight Gospel provides its viewers with questions, practices, and reminders. It challenged me and comforted me and by the end of season one, I not only cared deeply about Clancy’s journey, I felt ready to embark on my own.