The ending of God Friended Me was an improvised conclusion, following the show’s sudden cancellation, aimed at revealing that Ali was dying from cancer.
Overview
There are some shows from the 2010s that never went further than the era in which they were produced. One such series is the comedic and religious based series, God Friended Me. With a two-season run that started in 2018, the CBS show gave viewers one of the most bizarre endings.
The conclusion of the series was rushed as it seems the show had expected to be renewed for more seasons. However, when it was not, the series stuck to the ending that it had always envisioned. In light of this, they had to improvise the actual ending from past footage and rewrite the finale of the season as that of the series.
What is God Friended Me?
God Friended Me first premiered on CBS in 2018. The faith-based comedy series with a feel-good ethos was created by Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt, who also served as the showrunners of the show.
The premise of the comedy series is, “An atheist’s life is turned upside down when God adds him as a friend on Facebook.”
In the title role was actor Brandon Micheal Hall as tech expert Miles Finer. The series was produced in a collective effort by Warner Bros Television, CBS Television Studios in association with Berlanti Studios, and I Have An Idea Entertainment, to produce the series.
What did the finale of God Friended Me mean?
The main question in God Friended Me was always whether the God Facebook account was real or not. Therefore, throughout the two seasons of the series, that was the overarching question.
It seems that the series producers did not think that the story would conclude with the second season, however, it did.
As such, the final episode of the series shows Miles Finer having to confront his lack of faith. As he does so in the final moments of the series finale, he receives a friend request from his sister, Ali.
But the invite comes on the eve of her cancer surgery, which implied that Ali would join God on Facebook – a metaphor for heaven.
This could not be fully realised, again, due to the series producers possibly believing that they would have at least one more season to properly conclude the series.
Bryan Wynbrandt on improvising the conclusion of God Friended Me
After the conclusion of God Friended Me, showrunner Bryan Wynbrandt spoke to Deadline about the behind-the-scenes action that took place to improvise the end of the series. He explained:
“We were in New York directing this episode and had to pull the plug and we had no real idea if we were going to get to finish. Then a couple of weeks ago, conversations with Warner Bros and CBS started to lean towards us not getting a renewal, so Steven and I crafted a plan to finish the finale. We’d only filmed five days so we had to get crafty and pull footage from previous episodes.”
Why was God Friended Me cancelled?
For any show that gets cancelled immediately, without being given an opportunity to have a final season to concisely conclude the story, the first factor to consider is the show’s ratings.
In terms of God Friended Me’s cancellation, it seems that the show’s ratings were, in fact, the reason it was cancelled by CBS.
The series had seen a drastic drop in viewership numbers between season one and two, with a 26 percent drop in the key 18-49 age demographic, and a 20 percent drop in general viewing numbers. Moreover, it did not help that the series was not popular on DVR.
CBS on God Friended Me’s cancellation
While it is believed that the drastic drop in viewership numbers was the reason for God Friended Me getting cancelled, CBS did not confirm or deny the speculation. Instead, their statement, in part, read:
“We’re extremely proud of the unique concept and uplifting stories God Friended Me has told over the past two seasons. We thank the brilliant cast, writers, production team and crew for a show that stirred thoughtful conversation about faith, life and happiness, and made viewers feel good at the end of each episode.”
Final thoughts
Despite its unique and innovative premise of God following an atheist on Facebook, God Friended Me gave viewers 42 episodes of feel-good viewing, but unfortunately, it did not last longer than two seasons. The innovative premise seemingly failed to capture a large enough audience to continue the series run.
As a result of the sudden cancellation, the series needed to improvise a conclusive ending that would prove that the God account was real. He went on to reveal, through a friend request from her, that the protagonist’s sister, Ali, is not going to make it out of her cancer surgery alive.