{"id":30968,"date":"2026-05-15T19:25:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T19:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=30968"},"modified":"2026-05-15T19:25:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T19:25:43","slug":"scott-foley-drama-works-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=30968","title":{"rendered":"Scott Foley Drama Works Well"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n    Following the success of its faith-based successes \u201cThe Chosen\u201d and \u201cHouse of David,\u201d Amazon Prime is expanding in the genre with \u201cIt\u2019s Not Like That,\u201d from creators Ian Deitchman and Kristin Robinson. The intricate family drama uses Christianity as a pillar, but extends outward to explore the sticky nuances and unexpected circumstances that arise amid major life changes. A thoughtful show about parenting, friendship and love, \u201cIt\u2019s Not Like That\u201d is a breath of fresh air without feeling like religious propaganda.<br \/>\u200b<br \/>Set in Atlanta, the eight-episode season begins on the first day of school. However, this year looks very different for Grace Community Church pastor Malcolm (a perfectly cast <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/scott-foley\/\" id=\"auto-tag_scott-foley\" data-tag=\"scott-foley\">Scott Foley<\/a>) and his three children, teenage Flora (Leven Miranda), middle schooler Penelope (Cassidy Paul) and culinary wizkid Justin (Cary Christopher). Malcolm\u2019s wife, Jenny (Tyner Rushing), has recently died, and everyone is struggling to get used to a new normal. Across the street, Jenny\u2019s best friend, Lori (<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/erinn-hayes\/\" id=\"auto-tag_erinn-hayes\" data-tag=\"erinn-hayes\">Erinn Hayes<\/a>), is also trying to find her footing. Shortly after Jenny\u2019s passing, her husband, David (<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/j-r-ramirez\/\" id=\"auto-tag_j-r-ramirez\" data-tag=\"j-r-ramirez\">J. R. Ramirez<\/a>), filed for divorce, leaving her and her kids, high school wrestler Merritt (Caleb Baumann) and tween Casey (Liv Lindell), reeling.<br \/>\u200b<br \/>Though the kids set out on their first day with little fanfare, Malcolm and Lori find themselves in tears in their respective cars. As the pair navigates this new chapter, they are drawn to one another, deepening their bond. Steady and calm, Malcolm is often the voice of reason, even when his own children, Flora in particular, lash out. Lori is the more emotional and jumbled of the pair, but she provides him a sense of familiarity and comfort that he begins to yearn for as the show progresses. As Malcolm and Lori lean on each other for caregiving, grief and dating advice, they must also confront their own burgeoning romantic feelings. Things are made even stickier because David is still an active parent, and a friend to Malcolm.<br \/>\u200b<br \/>\u201cIt\u2019s Not Like That\u201d doesn\u2019t focus solely on the adults, and doesn\u2019t shy away from revealing how the show\u2019s children and teenagers experience grief. Justin is being bullied at school, but doesn\u2019t want to burden his father. Despite being lifelong besties, something has fractured between Penelope and Casey. Meanwhile, Merritt is shattered about his parents\u2019 divorce, and his coping mechanisms as he deals with his pain and anger are extremely destructive. Finally, there is Flora, who gets real regarding the pressures she feels as a preacher\u2019s kid grieving the death of her mother while having the responsibilities and expectations of an eldest daughter.<br \/>\u200b<br \/>While the will-they-won\u2019t-they of Lori and Malcolm works well due to Foley and Hayes\u2019 chemistry, the storylines surrounding parenting are what\u2019s most captivating here. Both adults display patience and level-headedness as they guide their kids through this new chapter, without forcing them to ignore or cover up any expressed anguish or pain. When Flora refuses to attend church, Malcolm doesn\u2019t push her. Instead, she is allowed to pilot her own relationship with God. Moreover, as the tension between Penelope and Casey reaches a boiling point, Lori and Malcolm let the girls sort things out for themselves.<br \/>\u200b<br \/>\u201cIt\u2019s Not Like That\u201d is neither preachy nor exclusionary, unlike many faith-based series and films. Instead, Christianity is a guiding light for the characters. Yet they don\u2019t thrust their beliefs on others. Additionally, none of the themes presented here feel atypical to anyone who has been forced to face devastating life events, no matter what they personally believe. And since David is a recovering alcoholic, Merritt and Flora are teens with hormones and emotions and one of Malcolm\u2019s best friends is an imam, discussions around alcohol, sex and other religions are prominent. Life can be tumultuous for believers and non-believers alike, and the show does a good job acknowledging that. This show isn\u2019t \u201c7th Heaven,\u201d and for that we should all be grateful.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n    <em>All eight episodes of \u201cIt\u2019s Not Like That\u201d premiere on May 15 on <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/prime-video\/\" id=\"auto-tag_prime-video\" data-tag=\"prime-video\">Prime Video<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/tv\/reviews\/its-not-like-that-review-prime-video-1236749276\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following the success of its faith-based successes \u201cThe Chosen\u201d and \u201cHouse of David,\u201d Amazon Prime is expanding in the genre with \u201cIt\u2019s Not Like That,\u201d from creators Ian Deitchman and Kristin Robinson. The intricate family drama uses Christianity as a pillar, but extends outward to explore the sticky nuances and unexpected circumstances that arise amid &#8230; <a title=\"Scott Foley Drama Works Well\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=30968\" aria-label=\"Read more about Scott Foley Drama Works Well\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Scott-Foley-Drama-Works-Well.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30968"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30970,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30968\/revisions\/30970"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}