No Season 2 for 'Messiah' as Netflix calls off controversial project because of coronavirus pandemic
Netflix has canceled its religious thriller ‘Messiah’ after one season. Created by Michael Petroni, and executive produced by him along with Mark Burnett, Roma Downey, Andrew Deane, and James McTeigue, the ten-episode first season focussed on the second coming of a man known as Al-Masih (Mehdi Dehbi), who claimed that he was the manifestation of the eschatological return of Isa or Jesus Christ.
This charismatic figure marches 2,000 Palestinian Syrians across the border of Israel. Meanwhile, a CIA agent, Eva Geller (Michelle Monaghan), is assigned to investigate the movement. The series chronicles her attempts to figure out whether al-Masih is actually a divine entity or if he’s a rogue agent, bent on creating chaos in one of the most politically-volatile parts of the world.
Actor Wil Travalm who plays Will Mathers on the series shared through his Instagram account: “It’s a very sad day today. I have just received news from Netflix that there will be no season 2 of #messiah I wanted to say to all the fans thank you for your support and love. I wish things were different.”
An inside source told Variety that Netflix did not feel confident producing a show that required so many international locations given the current state of things with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As the coronavirus pandemic refuses to die down, production for shows and films have come to a screeching halt across the globe.
‘Messiah’ has been a controversial show. Exploring middle-eastern geopolitics, faith, and religion is bound to find outrage. The show, of course, upped the ante by making the story about the second coming of Jesus Christ. Two days before Messiah was to debut on Netflix around the world, The Royal Film Commission of Jordan requested that the drama be not shown in the country.
Netflix had then responded to it saying, “Messiah is a work of fiction. It is not based on any one character, figure or religion. All Netflix shows feature ratings and information to help members make their own decisions about what’s right for them and their families.”
Around the same time, series creator Petroni told the AFP that Netflix was “nervous” about the project. “Yes, it’s provocative. The show is provocative,” he said. “But provocative isn’t offensive. It’s not like I’m welcoming backlash. We expect that there’s going to be a lot of noise around the show, and a lot of debate. I’m hoping for debate.”
The series received mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. While some raved about the plot (and about Dehbi’s aesthetically-pleasing cheekbones), others found the story too contrived, and the direction hammy. But the cancellation of the series after Season 1 will be disappointing for fans of the show. After all, it left a lot of things unexplained.
While it’s arguable if the Season 1 finale was a cliffhanger, it definitely was ambiguous. A plane carrying the disgraced Mossad agent Aviram Dahan (Tomer Sisley) and Al-Masih is shot down by the US government. When Aviram wakes up — and it is beyond belief how anyone could have survived a crash like that unscathed — he finds himself in a lush field of flowers surrounded by desert. Moments later a young shepherd tells him, “You were dead. He raised you,” pointing towards an equally unscathed Al-Masih.
Al-Masih then proceeds to raise another one of the plane crash victims from the dead. Yes, it would appear that the man has mystical powers. He did walk on water in an earlier episode. But, does that make him the titular Messiah? Or just an agent of chaos?
These are questions we will never find answers to anymore, it seems.