“Bachelor” and “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” fans seem to have had it with the show’s star, Taylor Frankie Paul. Following allegations of another domestic dispute involving her child’s father, Dakota Mortensen, netizens have begun slamming the reality star, insisting that she’s the cause of her own demise.

As previously reported by The Blast, production on season 5 of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” has been paused following the alleged altercation. The news of the dispute also comes days before the season premiere of “The Bachelorette,” in which Paul is the leading lady.

Taylor Frankie Paul Breaks Silence After Alleged Dispute With Her Child’s Father, Dakota Mortensen

Paul, who was thrust into the spotlight as the breakout star from Hulu’s “SLOMW” in 2024, recently broke her silence following her alleged domestic dispute with Mortensen.

Speaking with PEOPLE, Paul said that it hurts her “heart” to be in the middle of controversy amid what was supposed to be an exciting time. “Just the timing is hard, and it’s a big deal,” she stated.

Paul explained that “every premiere” she’s experienced has been clouded by controversy. “I’ve never enjoyed fully, so this is another one… it’s extremely hard, and it took everything to get me here today,” she said.

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Taylor Frankie Paul Calls The Ongoing Drama With Mortensen ‘Heavy’

The mother of three went on to call the situation extremely “heavy,” adding that she’s “struggling” to keep moving forward following the alleged encounter.

“… but also at the same time I feel like if I don’t show up, then I’m just giving these opportunities away and not enjoying what we’ve worked on and something super exciting that’s coming. I just feel like it was the right thing to do… show up even though it’s hard,” she said.

According to a previous report from The Blast, production on season 5 of “SLOMW” has been paused following the allegations. A source shared that the remaining cast members have voiced their concerns about working with Paul.

“They are not filming,” the insider reported. “Taylor [Frankie Paul] has some pretty serious stuff happening regarding her past, and they will see what happens. Until that resolves, they are off.”

Social Media Users Are Not Here For Taylor Frankie Paul Or Her Apology

While emotional, social media users don’t seem to be moved by Paul’s statement. On Reddit, one user called Paul a “victim of her own actions,” while another said she is “vile and disgusting.”

“God, don’t you hate it when your reality tv premiere is overshadowed by your domestic violence case,” another wrote, while a fourth shared, “That quote in the article is f-cking insane.”

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“This chick is constantly going through self-inflicted ‘heavy times,’” someone else posted, prompting another to share, “She definitely has the Lindsay Lohan syndrome of the ’90s where she loves chaos.”

‘Bachelor’ Producers Reportedly Cut Corners To Cast Paul As The Show’s Next Leading Lady

Another report from The Blast states that producers of the “Bachelorette” were surprised to learn Paul had been in another alleged dispute with Mortensen.

According to a source close to the show, the producers wanted Paul as the show’s next lead so badly that they allegedly “cut corners” to cast her, reportedly bypassing several crucial steps in the vetting process.

The drama surrounding Paul has also had serious implications for both of her shows, according to Entertainment Tonight. A spokesperson from Cinnabon recently revealed that the company was cutting ties with both series due to the seriousness of the claims.

“Recent developments and allegations surrounding the lead cast member led us to reassess this collaboration as it no longer aligns with our brand values,” they stated.

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Paul Has Been Arrested Before

This wouldn’t be the first time that Paul has been involved in an alleged domestic dispute. Per CBS News, the TV personality was charged with two felony counts of domestic violence and one felony count of aggravated assault in 2023.

The charges stem from an alleged altercation Paul had with Mortensen, during which she reportedly struck him, choked him, and hit him with “heavy metal chairs.”

“Ms. Paul’s status as a social media influencer has no bearing or impact on the investigation or outcome of this case,” the Herriman Police Department said at the time. “All allegations of domestic violence are investigated thoroughly and in accordance with state law and established criminal justice best practices to protect victims and ensure accountability.”

Marvel fans have spent the last few weeks dissecting every frame of the mysterious footage tied to Avengers: Doomsday, but according to the filmmakers behind the project, viewers may be approaching it all wrong.

“What you’ve been watching for the last four weeks… are not teasers. Or trailers. They are stories. They are clues… Pay attention.”

In recent comments, Russo Brothers made it clear that what fans are calling trailers are not trailers at all. Instead, they described the footage as intentional clues designed to spark speculation, reward close viewing, and quietly set the stage for what is shaping up to be one of Marvel’s most ambitious chapters yet.

Rather than traditional marketing beats that outline plot, characters, or tone, the Russos say these videos are closer to puzzle pieces. Every image, sound cue, and edit is meant to be questioned.

Chris Evans, Avengers: Doomsday [credit: Marvel Studios]

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Not a Trailer. A Warning.

According to the brothers, Avengers: Doomsday is being positioned differently than past Marvel releases. They want audiences thinking long before opening night. That means misdirection, symbolism, and information that may not make sense until much later.

The Russos emphasized that fans should not expect clear answers right now. If anything, the confusion is the point. The footage is meant to provoke theories rather than confirm them.

That approach lines up with how Marvel has quietly shifted its promotional strategy in the multiverse era. Instead of spelling things out, the studio is leaning into fan engagement, online debate, and long burn mystery.

The Clues Are in the Details

The directors encouraged viewers to look past surface level moments and focus on smaller details. Background imagery. Color choices. Dialogue fragments that seem out of place. Even what is missing from the footage may be just as important as what is shown.

Chris Hemsworth and India Rose Hemsworth [credit: Marvel Studios]

Fans have already begun connecting these clues to past MCU events, alternate timelines, and unresolved storylines from earlier phases. Some believe the footage hints at fractured realities colliding. Others think it is teasing a darker moral conflict at the heart of the film.

The Russos have not confirmed any theories, but they did say that attentive fans are already closer to the truth than they realize.

A Different Kind of Marvel Build Up

This cryptic rollout also reflects the scale of what Marvel is attempting. Avengers: Doomsday is expected to redefine the MCU moving forward, much like Infinity War and Endgame did before it. The Russos seem intent on recreating that sense of anticipation, but with a more cerebral twist.

Instead of hype driven spectacle, they are inviting fans into a conversation. One where speculation, rewatches, and theory threads are part of the experience.

As the Russos put it, the story has already started. It just isn’t being told in the usual way.

And if they are right, every so called trailer so far is less about selling tickets and more about asking a question.

What do you think Marvel is really trying to tell us?

One thing is certain. When Marvel Studios finally pulls the curtain back, fans who paid attention early may be the ones saying they saw it coming.

Before Brian Austin Green found fame as David Silver on Beverly Hills, 90210, he was fired from a popular sitcom.

During an interview for the Monday, March 16, episode of the “Pod Meets World” podcast, hosted by former Boy Meets World stars Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle, Green, 52, revealed he was let go from NBC’s My Two Dads which aired from 1987 to 1990.

“I was on one episode of My Two Dads and it was the only time that I was ever fired,” Green said on the podcast. “We had been rehearsing, and then we did a run-through, and I had a scene sitting at a table with Staci Keanan, who was on that show, and there was somebody else and I was really new to sitcoms and I just didn’t completely understand the timing of it and … they were like, ‘We’re going to have to recast.’”

My Two Dads was created by Michael Jacobs, who also created and produced Boy Meets World, the ABC coming-of-age series that ran for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000.

Related: Brian Austin Green ‘Couldn’t Really Process’ Luke Perry’s Death

mikel roberts/Sygma via Getty Images Brian Austin Green is reflecting on the difficulty of losing his Beverly Hills, 90210 costar Luke Perry so suddenly. “There was a part of me that couldn’t really process that that was real,” Green, 50, said in a Wednesday, January 31, clip of an upcoming episode of Getting Grilled With […]

After detailing his abrupt exit from My Two Dads, Green said the ousting left him concerned about one particular thing at the time. “I was so young, I was like, ‘OK, I still get paid for this day, right?’ That’s all I really cared about at that point,” he recalled.

As the “Pod Meets World” hosts began to speculate whether or not the person who signed off on Green’s exit was Jacobs, 70, Fishel, 44, offered Green some words of support. “If there’s one gift I can give you, I would just like for you to know, it wasn’t you,” she told her guest, who admitted that it “felt like me” when the dismissal went down.

“I’m not saying you didn’t feel like it was you,” Fishel, who played Topanga Lawrence on Boy Meets World, responded. “You were definitely told it was you. But I do just want you to know. [Jacobs] threatened to fire me after my first day and I was already replacing someone who had been fired.”

After Fishel’s reassurance, Green admitted that it was “good to know now” and detailed that Jacobs was the person who approached him the day he was fired.

“It was very specific,” Green began. “He came out and we were sitting in a restaurant, doing a scene sitting at a table, and he kept giving me these line readings of exactly what he wanted and I couldn’t do it exactly that way, and that was it.”

Green then joked, “It’s affected me for a long time. I can’t wait to tell my therapist.”

Kevin Hart is used to making people laugh, but this time, the joke wasn’t his. The comedian found himself at the center of viral chaos after a wax figure meant to honor him left fans doing double takes. 

Instead of applause, the unveiling sparked confusion, memes, and nonstop reactions online. 

Even Hart couldn’t believe what he was seeing, turning the moment into a full-blown internet spectacle that quickly took on a life of its own.

Kevin Hart Reacts To Wax Figure That Left Him Shocked

Kevin Hart didn’t hold back after seeing his new wax figure unveiled at a museum in Tennessee. 

The statue, dressed in a black T-shirt, leather jacket, and gold chain, was meant to capture his signature look, but the final result told a different story.

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Instead of recognizing himself, the comedian was clearly stunned by what he saw. In a now-viral reaction, he captioned the Instagram post, “WTTTTFFFFF …. What did I do to these people,” before doubling down with, “This is an attack…. Who in the f*ck is this??????”

The differences were hard to ignore. The statue appeared to have a lighter complexion, fuller hair, and sharper facial features than the comedian is known for. For Hart, the mismatch wasn’t just funny, it was personal.

“At this point these museums are just trying to make me cry,” he added, before demanding, “I demand a redo damn it!!!!!!!”

Hart’s Viral Moment Sends Fans Into Frenzy

The internet wasted no time reacting to Kevin Hart’s post. 

The clip, set to the playful “Frolic” theme from “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” showed a full view of the statue, with text that read, “I know this ain’t Kevin Hart.”

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Within hours, the video racked up millions of views and tens of thousands of comments. Fans flooded the replies with jokes, confusion, and disbelief over the resemblance.

Some comments were blunt, with one user writing, “Lololol who is that supposed to be because NO!” 

A second person added, “When you order your wax figure off Temu,” while a third shared, “This is the worst I’ve seen of anyone.”

Others got more creative, comparing the statue to completely different celebrities. One fan joked, “You asked for Kevin Hart and got Kevin The Weeknd,” while another added, “Jason Derulo as Kevin Hart.”

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Another user quipped, “You may be entitled to compensation.”

Still, not everyone agreed with the criticism. Dwayne Johnson jumped into the conversation with a mix of humor and sarcasm, writing, “It’s PERFECT, Don’t change a thing.”

Kevin Hart Joins Long List Of Celebrities With Controversial Wax Figures

Hart’s experience is far from unique. Wax figures have long been a source of online debate, with fans quick to point out when a likeness feels off.

Earlier this year, Zendaya faced similar scrutiny after her wax figure debuted in New York. 

Inspired by her “Dune: Part Two” appearance in Mexico City, the statue featured a sleek outfit with leather textures and bold accessories.

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While the museum framed it as a tribute to her influence, reactions were mixed. 

Some viewers felt the likeness didn’t fully capture her look, while others defended the effort. 

According to PEOPLE, one person noted it was “realistically not that bad,” while another pointed out that these figures don’t always get it right.

Hart Gets Roasted Again, This Time At The Super Bowl

Even beyond the wax figure drama, Kevin Hart found himself the target of jokes in another high-profile setting. 

As The Blast reported, Tom Brady couldn’t resist poking fun at his longtime friend during the 2025 Super Bowl broadcast. 

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Spotting the actor on camera, Brady quipped, “Kevin Hart’s here?” before adding, “How do the cameras find Kevin Hart?” 

The playful jab continued with commentary about visibility, turning Hart into an unexpected punchline during the game.

Brady later made it clear the teasing was all in good fun, adding, “Kevin, I love you. You took so many shots at me in May. I’m coming right at you.”

The moment was a callback to Hart’s earlier roast of Brady during the Netflix special “Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady,” where the comedian joked, “Gisele gave you an ultimatum. She said you have to retire or you’re done. But when you have a chance to go 8-9 you gotta do it.”

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Kevin Hart Reflects On Comedy, Criticism, And Public Moments

Despite the jokes and viral moments, Hart has been open about how comedy and public perception intersect. 

Following the roast controversy, Brady admitted he regretted participating in the special, saying he “didn’t like the way that affected my kids.”

Hart, however, defended the nature of the event, calling it “necessary” while also acknowledging the complexities involved. 

He explained that he could understand Brady’s reaction, noting the importance of family and how public jokes can land differently in today’s climate.

At the same time, the 46-year-old emphasized the value of humor, suggesting that moments like the roast help remind people that “a joke being a joke” still has a place.

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Celebrating its 23rd year in March 2026, and hosted by the college town of Columbia, Missouri, the True/False Film Fest has a mission to represent the best in international non-fiction filmmaking. This year’s line-up showcased over 30 new feature films and 25 shorts across 114 screenings.

Columbia puts a lot of care and pride into True/False, which is a regional highlight that attracts international filmmakers, press, and audience members every year. Hosted by the Ragtag Film Society, the festival takes over downtown for nearly a week, with the screenings accompanied by music performances, art installations and even a parade. Collider was on the ground at this year’s festival, and the following documentaries are among True/False 2026’s best.

5

‘Remake’

Image via GiantSquid/ Impact Partners

The best documentary at True/False this year is a gut-wrenching and entirely engrossing story of parental loss. Ross McElwee is a decorated veteran of the medium, best known for his 1986 doc Sherman’s March, a movie that was intended to be about Southern U.S. history, but ultimately became about his own love life. Sherman’s March won the Grand Jury Prize at 1987 Sundance, and is preserved in the National Film Registry.

Many docs and associated critics prizes followed for the filmmaker in the years since, with McElwee often using his family members as subjects. Echoing the basis of Sherman’s March, Remake was originally intended to be a look at McElwee struggling with Hollywood producers over an increasingly dumbed-down attempt to adapt the doc to a narrative film, then eventually to a 22-minute sitcom. In the background of all of this, though, McElwee loses his son, Adrian, to a years-long struggle with drug addiction.

Remake makes an unexpected, inspired pairing with last year’s critical darling Hamnet, in that it’s about the unthinkable process of grieving a child and how that could tie in to the creative process. Many will likely find the way McElwee films his son throughout personal and upsetting to be at least a little alarming, but the filmmaker himself addresses the ethics, and his uncertainty about them, throughout. Remake documents Adrian’s young, often happy and funny childhood, a drawn-out and brutal divorce, and ultimately years of secrecy and spiraling. The effect is shattering and impossible to forget. That may sound like a cliché, but it’s true; Remake couldn’t be more vivid.

4

‘The Great Experiment’

Image via Chorus of the Union Films

Stephen Maing and Eric Daniel Metzgar‘s The Great Experiment has the ambitious objective of exploring deep division and polarization in the U.S., specifically in Trump’s first term, all in around 90 minutes. The Great Experiment was likely the best-looking movie at True/False, with black-and-white photography that’s never less than stunning, even as it explores social situations that are nothing short of ugly.

Certain scenes may play out like a political Rorshach test: among the people we spend time with are “Gays for Trump” and utterly nihilistic self-proclaimed members of Antifa, and which of these folks seems more problematic and detached from reality may be up for interpretation. The Great Experiment is sometimes funny in a way that feels like Borat without the man himself, and the quality of the filmmaking here is simply undeniable.

3

‘Pinball’

Image via ITVS/Grey Is Good

On a more hopeful beat, perhaps surprisingly, is this documentary about American refugees of the Iraq War, following years of their uprooted lives in Louisville, Kentucky. Directed by Naveen Chaubal and produced by Bryn Silverman, Pinball documents several international years in the lives of Mohammed Al Windawi, his wife and children Yosef and Azraa (now both young adults).

The younger generation is the chief focus here, and it’s a pleasure to be around them. Yosef is more hilarious, handsome and screen-commanding than many if not most leads I saw in Hollywood movies last year. Pinball is extremely effective in the way it explores the youths’ conflicted and ever-evolving relationship with the pull of their homeland.

2

‘How to Clean a House in Ten Easy Steps’

Image via FromAway Films

A blend of fiction and non-fiction, animation and live-action, with elements of outright fantasy and a musical number, How to Clean a House in Ten Easy Steps is Carolina Gonzalez Valencia‘s tribute to mother Beatriz, a Colombian-born domestic worker who came to the U.S. with aspirations of prosperity through hard work and determination.

How to Clean a House in Ten Easy Steps recasts and reimagines Beatriz as a bestselling author of a book of the same name. The real-life story of Beatriz’s professional, family and romantic life is glimpsed in the film as well. It’s more complicated, in the life tends to be, and likely more compelling, but How to Clean a House in Ten Easy Steps‘ blend of genres and storytelling techniques received an enthusiastic audience response across multiple screenings at True/False.

1

‘Landscapes of Memory’

Image via Meerkat Media, Space Time Films

In Landscapes of Memory, Jewish American filmmaker Leah Galant explores generations of trauma and, well, memory, as a descendant of Holocaust survivors. The film is as much about family as it is about memory, with much of the screen time dedicated to Galant’s father, who has ALS.

Landscapes of Memory draws considerable parallels between the horrors of the Holocaust and present-day Palestine, with Galant’s firm thesis expressing that traumas of the past are being utilized to justify those in present day. This is obviously very heavy subject matter that we’re all too aware of presently, but Landscapes of Memory is effective in its intimacy.

The True/False documentary film festival runs annually in Columbia, Missouri. For more information, visit truefalse.org

Choosing a favorite Michael Bay movie is a little like choosing a favorite flavor of Mountain Dew — none are particularly good for you, but they taste okay and help you do backflips on a dirt bike. Hey, sometimes you just need to get extreme. But Michael Bay himself has fond memories of one specific movie, one that taught him how to work with major actors and a big budget: The Rock.

Just Bay’s second movie (after Bad Boys), The Rock put him together with established movie star Nicolas Cage and very established megastar Sean Connery. No offense to Bad Boys’ Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, but neither of them had ever played Indiana Jones’ dad or James Bond. The stakes were higher, with The Rock having a reported budget of $75 million (compared to Bad Boys’ budget being somewhere in the $20 million range), and Bay credits Connery with helping him keep the project together.

How Did Sean Connery Help Michael Bay on ‘The Rock’?

Image via Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

In an old interview with Fandango, Bay said that he was nervous to work with Connery — even after working with major celebrities in his previous career as a music video and commercial director. Connery plays a roguish villain in The Rock, and Bay was intimidated about giving him his first direction (which was to do a scene “a little less charming”), but Connery’s response was, simply, “sure, boy.”

Bay also went on to say that, while filming Bad Boys, they had no money and no time to make sure they were getting things right, so his impulse was to treat The Rock the same way even though he had a lot more money. He credits Connery, “a consummate actor,” with teaching him how to slow things down and actually rehearse a scene with the actors so they all knew what they were doing. So, whenever Bay is working with “young whippersnapper actors that are late or this or that or not focused” (he didn’t name names, but we’re all thinking of the same guy, right?), he’ll tell them about working with Sean Connery. The fact that Bay’s career has steadily gotten bigger and bigger, with bigger movies and bigger actors, likely means that the lessons he learned paid off.

‘The Rock’ Is Still Michael Bay’s Best Movie

Image via Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

In The Rock, a group of rogue Marines led by Ed Harris steal a bunch of rockets loaded with chemical weapons and capture Alcatraz. They threaten to launch them at San Francisco unless the U.S. government admits to covering up details about how it mistreated Harris and his men. The FBI enlists chemical weapons expert Stanley Goodspeed (Cage) to sneak onto Alcatraz and disable the rockets, but because nobody knows the secret underground tunnels of the former prison, the organization also has to bring in John Mason (Connery), a former British special agent who was once imprisoned on Alcatraz but managed to escape. (The meta-joke is that Connery is literally playing old James Bond.)

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Cage and Connery quickly become friends, with the sort of action-buddy chemistry that Bay is so good at tapping into (whether it’s between the Bad Boys or the Autobots). The movie is sort of a pure form of Michael Bay’s trademark bombast, with just enough restraint to keep it from being a total cartoon, which is a trap that nearly every subsequent Bay movie fell into (especially Bad Boys II and later). It also doesn’t make any effort to pretend it’s a more serious movie than it is, like with Bay’s bizarrely conceived 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. If Bad Boys is some early formulation of Mountain Dew where they hadn’t perfected the formula yet, then The Rock is the classic, crowd-pleasing version.

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Release Date

June 7, 1996

Runtime

137 minutes

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Writers

David Weisberg, Douglas S. Cook, Jonathan Hensleigh, Mark Rosner

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Renewed interest in using the Bible as on-screen source material has been on the rise in the last decade. Since the crowd-funded darling, The Chosen, took off, a wave of adaptations has followed in its wake. More networks, studios, and streamers have returned their attention to these centuries-old tales in the past few years than the industry at large has in decades. So, perhaps it isn’t surprising that FOX would take a more novel approach with The Faithful: Women of the Bible.

This miniseries — set to air over the course of three Sundays leading up to Easter: March 22, March 29, and April 5 — aims to tackle the matriarchs that established the bloodline that would lead not only to the founding of the Kingdom of Israel but also the lineage of Jesus Christ. However, despite the name, The Faithful is anything but, and those deviations keep the drama from being compelling or effective.

‘The Faithful: Women of the Bible’ Tells the Events of Genesis From a Female Perspective

Image via Fox

The Faithful aims to use each part of its three-night airing to follow a different heroine (or heroines) from the middle chapters of Genesis. The saga begins with the two-part “The Woman Who Bowed to No One/The Woman Who Spoke to God,” highlighting Sarah (Minnie Driver), the wife of Abraham (Jeffrey Donovan), and her Egyptian servant Hagar (Natacha Karam), who gave birth to the patriarch’s firstborn son. The second night — the two-part “The Woman Who Risked Everything” — revolves around the story of Rebekah (Alexa Davalos), the bride of Abraham and Sarah’s son, Isaac (Tom Mison). The third night’s two-part finale, “The Woman Who Loved,” is about the sister brides of Rebekah’s son Jacob (Tom Payne), detailing the tragic story of Leah (Millie Brady) and the complicated romance of Rachel (Blu Hunt). Together, these were the women who birthed entire nations, and The Faithful aims to “finally” tell their story in earnest. At least, that’s the goal.

With only the first two episodes provided for review, there are several impressive aspects of The Faithful worth noting up front, like the series’ overall production value. The visuals are quite enthralling and propel the viewer instantly back in time. Given the current cinematic “Bible boom,” productions that take great care to appear at least visually faithful to the material stand out, even if they’re not shot on location in the Middle East. (Prime Video’s House of David is another such series). Like The Passion of the Christ before it, The Faithful utilizes Italian scenery to stand in for the ancient Levant region in which these events take place, specifically Malta and Rome. There’s certainly a sense of place created here as Sarah and her household move from their initial home in Harran to Egypt and eventually to the land of Canaan.

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Additionally, The Faithful‘s cast includes several capable performers who really carry the show in light of its fractured material. Minnie Driver would never have been my first pick for Sarah, but there are moments here where she shines. Her distant cadence serves the story well when she struggles to trust God for an heir, not sure if her husband is completely sane. However, this also proves a distraction whenever more intimate moments of happiness or levity appear. In many respects, her work on The Faithful is rivaled by Natacha Karam, who wears Hagar’s inner turmoil on her sleeve as she wrestles with her initial desire to return home to Egypt and her present conflict with her mistress. Her moments of desperation in the desert are an effective and beautiful reflection of the original text, further elevating Karam’s role. Yet The Faithful doesn’t lean far enough into her plight, opting instead to spend the majority of its premiere on Sarah.

‘The Faithful’ Tries and Fails To Rewrite the Biblical Narrative

Image via Fox

As was the case with D.J. Caruso‘s bold take on Mary that hit Netflix back in 2024 and other subpar Bible-based features like Darren Aronofsky‘s Noah or ABC’s attempt to retell the tale of King David in Of Kings and Prophets, The Faithful makes such bold strides away from the source material that there are moments where the result is simply unrecognizable. The clear deviations from the text make this uneven adaptation feel like wasted potential. Admittedly, creative liberties will always be taken when it comes to adapting any beloved source material, but there’s a difference between small cosmetic changes and fundamental misunderstandings.

When Sarah is taken away to Egypt by Pharaoh (Amr Waked), for instance, she tells the ancient ruler that Abraham was her brother rather than her husband to save his life. She then tries to kill Pharaoh before he can take her, only for God to intervene and the ruler to cast her (and Hagar) out. While the inclusion of Hagar in this sequence is a creative liberty that works well in the context of the broader narrative, the rest is a reworking of the material that falls flat. The original chapter in Genesis depicts Abraham as the offending party, who introduces Sarah as his sister rather than his wife, and adhering to that version would’ve given Driver a more emotionally rich and morally compelling struggle to work with on screen.

It certainly doesn’t help that The Faithful ignores the most important (and certainly most thought-provoking) chapter in the Abraham saga: the sacrifice of Isaac. Genesis recounts the story where God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son, only for the patriarch to be stopped at the last moment by divine intervention. It’s perhaps the most famous story about Abraham and this time period, though The Faithful ignores this entirely, at least in the first two episodes. Whether the second batch of episodes, following Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, will delve into it remains to be seen.

While The Faithful offers some interesting notions of doubt for Sarah, particularly her initial disbelief that God wants her to have a child, this undercurrent is never fully developed. What could have been a challenging statement about the difficulty and perseverance of faith is ultimately diluted by surface-level lip service to the text. Had the series tackled the most controversial aspect of this biblical story from Sarah’s perspective, it would have allowed for a more earnest foundation for these doubts, leading to a more cathartic outcome, but The Faithful‘s version is too hollow to be substantially meaningful.

‘The Faithful’ Is a Bold Attempt That Strays Too Far To Be Relevant

Image via Fox

Despite these criticisms, there are still a few redeeming qualities to be found in The Faithful. Hagar’s story is a compelling chapter that is often overlooked, here presented as one of the most foundational moments in early Judeo-Christian history. Karam is a standout in the part, and she is certainly the heroine to cling to most tightly in the premiere. Donovan is a compelling Abraham every time he’s on-screen, and his intimate moments with Sarah are some of the show’s highlights — in fact, his casting is almost strong enough to forgive the show’s general lack of authenticity in the casting of its principal actors and the clear lack of a region-accurate dialect coach (à la The Chosen or House of David).

For those who have read the Bible and have long hoped for an adaptation that puts its female characters in the spotlight, The Faithful certainly claims to be just that. However, upon careful examination, the series can’t strike a successful balance between authentically bringing these women to life and rewriting their stories to fit the prepackaged concept the series was sold as in the first place. Perhaps future episodes will prove this reviewer wrong and better embrace the text that first turned these women into historical, even legendary, figures in the first place.

The Faithful: The Women of the Bible premieres Sunday, March 22, on FOX and will be available the next day for streaming on Hulu.

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Release Date

March 22, 2026

Network

FOX

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Directors

Danny Cannon

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Writers

René Echevarria

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Pros & Cons

• The miniseries features a solid cast that carries most of the narrative weight.
• Hagar’s arc is genuinely compelling, though it’s a shame there isn’t more of her.

• The miniseries doesn’t commit enough to the source material to feel like a genuine adaptation or examination.
• There’s a lack of development in Sarah’s wrestling with God and in the fallout of her actions.
• Couldn’t this show have cast actors who better looked (and sounded) the part?

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