While some of the most recent Netflix Originals attempt to engage viewers through shock and wonderment, The Midnight Gospel greets viewers with a meditative, yet insightful experience. As we follow our guide, an alien video caster named Clancy, on his interviews throughout the universe via a broken down old world simulator, we are greeted by scenes of violence and disarray displayed in aesthetically pleasing cartoon color schemes. Even as bizarre alien creatures are slaughtered before viewers’ eyes, heart rates are kept low by the placid calm voices of our interviewer and interviewee as they discuss topics such as drugs, meditation, and mortality. Despite the chaotic nature of the settings and visuals, the show is closer to a guided meditation then an action or adventure.

The main interviews, given by a range of real world experts and celebrities, provide escapism from the make believe chaos, as well as the real. These interviews, while at times hard to follow, give viewers something to tune in out and out of while the beautiful, sometimes gory animation swirls in front of their eyes. This evokes feelings of peace, something that has become elusive since the start of 2020. As our world seems to fall apart faster than the worlds inside Clancy’s simulator, The Midnight Gospel acts as an escape that doesn’t dismiss crisis or chaos, but instead works with it to create a higher level of peace.