NBC's Superstore Sitcom Review: Where anti-Christian attacks are "comedy".

I started watching the NBC sitcom "Superstore" with my wife a couple of weeks ago. It's about employees who work in a supermarket called Cloud 9. There isn't any major plot, it's your standard sitcom format. There is obviously plenty of good potential in a show based in a store similar to Walmart. Unfortunately instead of taking advantage of hundreds of possible comedic situations which could arise, the show has become more and more anti-Christian, devolving into unfunny but vicious attacks on Christians. Of course, there is absolutely no balance whatsoever. Christians and Christianity in the show are always made to look bad. I guess this is why it was picked up by Netflix. I will stop watching the show. It has no value to me anymore. Let me get into some detail.

[Warning: contains spoilers up to Season 2: Episode 2. I haven't watched beyond that.]

So I was watching the show and from the start I noticed that the overtly Christian store manager Glenn Phillip Sturgis (played by Mark McKinney) comes across as very stupid. He has a high-pitched ridiculous voice and he just seems extremely naïve about the world. I wasn't surprised to see this though. Many sitcoms now feature an extremely naïve Christian character such as Shirley Bennett in Community (played by Yvette Nicole Brown) or the assistant on 30 Rock Kenneth Ellen Parcell played by Jack McBrayer.

It has become a tired and pathetic trope. "Haha, look at the stupid, naïve Christian. No need to take that person seriously." These characters seem to know nothing of the "real world". They have been sheltered their entire lives from the reality and grittiness of the world. They are essentially portrayed as adult children with no street knowledge. Yet, the other "woke" characters have such a nuanced and compassionate, non-judgmental view of people. That's because they've seen things and know the world is a complicated place, unlike Christians who think it's just all black and white.

So enough talking in general. How exactly does the show Superstore push its left-wing secular agenda while vilifying people of faith?

First of all, in general, there is really only one overt Christian. Not a single other person on the show ever mentions their faith or that they are Christian. Plus from their opinions and words it would certainly seem they are not Christian.

The show seems to take issues one and a time and show why the conservative opinion on that topic is outdated, immoral, and offensive. It's no longer subtly worked into the plot, it's shoved in your face and rammed down your throat. They have completely sacrificed all comedic value in order to simply bash Christians. It's like shock humor. The audience laughs simply because of sheer surprise.

In one episode, Glenn, the Christian manager, finds out that they sell the morning-after pill in the pharmacy. To be clear, the morning-after pill is an abortifacient - it causes an abortion. Of course, as a Christian, he opposes these pills. Is his view that abortion is wrong because you are killing an innocent human being ever shown? Nope! He's just this outdated dinosaur who believes things for no particular reason but because that's just what his religion told him. Of course, the others are so much more relatable and down-to-earth. They get that life is messy and that they don't let arbitrary morals get in their way of helping people.

I'm actually not doing a good job of describing it, because they make him look even worse. In fact, the show was not satisfied to show Glenn as being opposed to these pills, they went further and portrayed him as a hypocrite. After he attempts to stop others from buying the pills by buying them all himself, he realizes how much it costs. He tries to immediately return them but the pharmacist stubbornly refuses to let him (they never leave the sight of the pharmacist who actually brags about getting women pregnant then giving them these pills). When Glenn is not allowed to return the pills, he goes from person to person trying to sell them. When a couple tries to tell him why they want them (they had "unprotected" sex), he stops them from speaking and makes up the dumbest other "reasons" why they might want these pills (plates for a dollhouse, etc.).

In another straight-from-the-headlines "joke", there is a woman campaigning against allowing men into women's bathrooms. What opinion should we have about this NBC? Well, apparently people who think this are backward bigots, irredeemably evil people, so much so, that the character who is interested in her in a sexual way, can hardly bring himself to pursue her, even though he has absolutely no qualms about doing so in any other situation. No, her evil thought that men should stick to men's washrooms is beyond the pale, it makes her irredeemable.

Other non-specifically moral issues arise as well such as gun control. One of the workers is assigned to work at the firearms counter against his will. He continually indicates why he thinks selling firearms is evil and wrong. The people buying the firearms are portrayed as unreasonable crazy people. Because one of them could not buy a gun on the spot despite implying he would do something violent, the store is besieged by dozens of rifle-totting men and women fighting for their rights. They are portrayed as over-the-top and completely unreasonable, while the voice of reason emanates from the anti-gunners.

Glenn, the manager, will often bring up Bible verses or sing hymns. He tries to read the Bible in a break room one day. But he's always mocked, derided or otherwise portrayed in a negative light for doing so or attempting to do so.

Other issues also arise in the show which highlight various left-wing causes and points of view: white people are racist, free universal healthcare is a human right, capitalism is bad, etc, etc.

It's just become pathetic and boring at this point. There is no more subtlety left at all. So I will be not watching any more. Unfortunately this isn't just something that's happening in this show. Pushing a left-wing agenda has become a mainstay of shows on Netflix. They have a clear agenda. I may cancel the service but my wife still watches it so I have to consult with her on it.

To any Christian who has considered watching Superstore. My advice quite simply is to not bother.