No one would have imagined that Lucifer, a show about the devil who gets bored, opens a nightclub in Los Angeles and helps cops solve murders, would gain the fan base it has developed. However, its devilishly delicious plot is wrapped in hilarious low-budget effects and admirable acting.
Most of the show’s success is undeniably due to the incredible presence of Tom Ellis, an actor who plays the show’s titular character, Lucifer Morningstar, with delightful ease. He took a seemingly one-dimensional character and dragged us into the Devil’s world as the fallen angel struggles to understand what these pesky things called “emotions” are.
Sadly, Fox hit the show’s death knell after season three, but luckily for us, Netflix saw its potential. The streaming platform picked up all three seasons and then began production on more seasons. But the series did not always please everyone.
During the Lucifer ad campaign leading up to its initial broadcast in 2016, there was quite a bit of backlash. The religious community condemned the show for its portrayal of their most notorious biblical villain, and Christians claimed that the show mischaracterized the Devil and mocked his beliefs. There was even a petition started to cancel the show by the group One Million Moms, and they amassed over 38,000 signatures before the show aired. Of course, the network went ahead anyway.
Even after its move to Netflix, the show has continued to annoy devotees. For example, another petition to cancel Lucifer was started again, this time with over 100,000 signatures. The main problem the religious community seems to have with the show is the portrayal of Lucifer as a nice guy. They see it as an affront, a statement that Hollywood is denying the existence of God while giving its evil counterpart a television show. But hey, there is no such thing as bad publicity, right?
Lucifer’s first season garnered around seven million viewers, which was enough to send the series into season two. The show’s success and story arc almost seem like an act of defiance against backsliding, with demons and angels learning what it means to be human. In Lucifer, celestial entities go against their very nature to nurture the emotion known as love, and showing that even the Devil can change sends a great message.
