![]() ![]() ![]() “They’re going for niche audiences because you don’t need 40 million viewers to tune in,” said Winston. Streaming platforms’ algorithms also serve consumers what they want - and don’t show them anything they don’t - which can protect the platforms from the fallout and attacks that might have previously plagued a network taking on controversial topics such as religion. But simultaneously, they don’t have to be quite as careful with what they show because streaming platforms allow viewers to choose what to see - there’s no pressure to appeal to whoever turns on the TV. She hazarded a guess that platforms were reaching for more controversial content than before because they are scraping the barrel in search of fresh fodder for their audiences to keep them from defecting to another platform. “There’s been such an explosion of streaming services that there’s a need for content,” said Diane Winston, a professor of religion and media at the University of Southern California. Why now?Īt a basic level, the increase in the number of shows that dig into religion may just reflect how streaming platforms have changed our media consumption. Even if the particular sects depicted may feel foreign to viewers, the shows are still taking on a mainstream practice - and more of them are on the way. Judaism is an old, well-known Western religion, and the LDS Church is huge, wealthy and powerful. There’s something different about this more recent surge of religious content. Of course, people have always been curious about practices outside the norm, but before now, most of the fascination has centered on cults that are easy to criticize thanks to their relatively low membership and extremist beliefs - think “Wild, Wild Country,” about the Osho movement, and “The Vow,” looking at the NXIVM cult.
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