I watched the first episode.
I was a fan of the first season of the Boondocks, even though a lot of what McGruder did was really heavy-handed. The show took a turn for the worst afterwards.
One thing that is interesting about this show is that it’s not clear whether or not “Jesus” is in fact the Son of God, returned to Compton in 2014. The trailer for the season suggests that some characters (the landlord played by Charlie Murphy, and an older black woman who insists that “Jesus was white”) think that this character is nothing more than a dangerous charlatan who is forming a new cult. It will make for interesting social commentary, if it’s done well enough.
Jesus does swear, but not often. I look at it as speaking in the language of the people around him, who swear pretty much every sentence.
He does smoke marijuana, but it’s a part of his larger “hippy” project of creating a local garden with vegetables and “herbs.” Also, he turns water into wine at a party, but then refuses to give it to the others because he’s upset that he needs to perform miracles like that to get his attention.
Jesus does participate in a drug deal. The deal goes bad and Jesus’s crew ends up with both the drugs and the money, but Jesus gives the money back to the dealers.
When his friend is in trouble with the police, he does fabricate an alibi using his “magic.” That’s a little dishonest but I suppose Jesus is trying to take the fall for his friend? I dunno, that’s pretty grey to me.
In general, this Jesus espouses the same message as the historical Jesus, although adapted for this new audience and slightly tweaked for the sake of “humor” (which I don’t find necessary). He talks about peace, love, understanding, getting right with God, and the importance of maintaining one’s integrity. It is a bit upsetting that he gets mad at people and tells them “I love you by default” as a reassurance.
Overall, I think the show could serve as a good social commentary on how people perceive Jesus nowadays, and a very flawed glance at what it might be like if He walked among us now in one of the most violent and poverty-stricken cities in the world. I would not recommend it for “spiritual enlightenment” and it’s certainly not for children. But it’s not the worst thing television can do.
Who knows, maybe it will get people searching for the real Jesus?