Move over “Law and Order,” “Criminal Minds,” and “NCIS.” “Vindication” is gaining in popularity as a faith-based crime TV series that’s available on multiple streaming platforms.
Starring Todd Terry, “Vindication” was created by Jarod O'Flaherty after he watched a mainstream crime drama with his wife who is a fan of the genre.
“I wasn’t really into them,” O'Flaherty told The Epoch Times about police dramas. “One night when she was watching one of these shows, it sparked the idea of what would it be like to blend a faith-based storyline with one of these cop shows.”
Meanwhile, faith-based movies and TV shows are rising in popularity.
Movieguide is a Christian organization that reviews films based on their moral and family-friendly content.
“I think there’s going to be a shift into the episodic space by faith-based content creators where right now there are only a couple,” O'Flaherty said. “You don’t see many faith-based series because they are hard to produce. One season of our show is the equivalent to three feature films. That’s a lot of work to keep the resources and the people together.”
“Vindication” tracks detective Gary Travis who is a born-again Christian but young in his faith. In each episode, he handles cases that test his wisdom, faith and resolve.
“Detective Travis is not going around quoting scripture and preaching sermons to everyone,“ O'Flaherty said. ”Instead, he is learning this new faith-guided lifestyle as he goes about dealing with difficult situations as a law enforcement officer.”
Other actors appearing regularly in the episodic are T.C. Stallings as a fellow detective, who also starred in “War Room” and “The Forge,” and Emma Elle Roberts as Katie Travis.
What “Vindication” does differently each episode is focus on the positive instead of dwelling on the gory details of crime.
“We follow people’s lives, what’s happening with them, and then God naturally shows up at different points,” O'Flaherty said. “We don’t try to sear images into your brain of how awful a crime was. Instead, there’s a focus on the good that’s happening around it.”
Although the main character is a Christian, episodes rarely take place in a church. That’s because O'Flaherty avoids stereotypes.
“In our lives, we don’t go to church and everything gets instantly solved,” he said. “Throughout the series, there are only two or three scenes that take place inside a church building. A lot of times, we'll cut away when someone’s about to pray.”
Viewers are largely people of faith, church goers and believers in God and as a result, one of the challenges O'Flaherty faces is telling real world crime stories without putting the audience off. Some of the story lines so far have included tough topics such as LGBT and racism.
“People may expect the show to lean conservative politically but we stay mostly apolitical throughout the episode,” he said. “There were a few times that we tackled some pretty hot topic issues but in a way that, I believe, properly represents both political viewpoints.”
The first three seasons are currently streaming on PureFlix and RedeemTV. Seasons 1 through 3 are also available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime while Seasons 1 and 2 are free on YouTube, Tubi, and PlutoTV. Angel Studios is premiering Season 4 on March 20 exclusively on the Angel Studios apps and Angel.com. New episodes launch weekly on Thursdays through May 8 on Angel and RedeemTV simultaneously.
“Vindication has always been about more than just solving crimes,” Angel Studios chief distribution officer Jared Geesey said in a press release. “It’s about exploring the human condition through the lens of faith and redemption.”
