The topics of faith and religion have nearly always been reflected on TV at any given point in the medium’s history, but with far less frequency than other facets of culture. That tide’s shift has been more noticeable in the digital age, however, thanks in part to dedicated services like the subscription-based Wonder Project. The platform’s first scripted series hitting the 2026 TV schedule is the Amazon MGM-produced family drama It’s Not Like That, but star Erinn Hayes doesn’t want potential viewers to think each episode is a catechism class.
With a career largely invested in comedic work for projects such as Childrens Hospital, Worst Week and Grimsberg, Hayes hasn’t yet made her mark as the matriarch in a romance-tinged family-friendly drama. (Let's not forget her comedic matriarch's fan-angering exit from Kevin Can Wait back in 2017.) But It’s Not Like That could certainly be a game-changer in that respect, and the actress told US Weekly why she thinks this is a show for everyone, saying:
We are technically a faith-based show but I think that the message is nothing other than kindness and compassion and meeting other people with grace. That is [a message for] all humans.
With the outside world getting more and more hectic, it's hard to balk at any piece of media that just wants to spread kindness and compassion. The new series stars Hayes as Lori, a recently divorced mother of two teenagers, and co-stars Scandal vet Scott Foley as Malcolm, a recently widowed pastor now raising three kids by his lonesome. Lori and Malcolm's families were close for years, and the two are now faced with major life readjustments, possibly with a romantic spark or two flying along the way.
One of the core struggles will be Malcolm overcoming his grief and being a pillar for his children, and Hayes says that's where It's Not Like That's core religious conversations stem from, and that they happen in "a very real way." I would totally buy Scott Foley sharing anecdotes with his TV children about his character finding his calling.
Erinn Hayes namechecked Kristen Bell and Adam Brody's hugely popular Netflix dramedy Nobody Wants This as a benchmark of the Wonder Project series' focus, saying:
Yes, we’re a faith platform. But we’re about as religious as Nobody Wants This. This is about a pastor and another family — and it’s not pushing religion on anybody. These are the experiences of these people — and he happens to be a pastor.
Whether it was just coincidental timing or a cleverly planned comparison, mentioning Nobody Wants This was a smart move for Hayes to make. Season 3 is on the way, and even though the fans didn’t enjoy the second season as much, enough people watched that Netflix's renewal order came just weeks after Season 2 debuted. Granted, that show also took flak from viewers for how it handled religious elements, but I don't think that's what Hayes was talking about. It's Not Like That is a show about people dealing with issues that everyone deals with, regardless of their religious affiliations.
As someone who steered clear of religion after a childhood steeped in Catholicism, I admittedly wouldn't have been first in line to watch It's Not Like That based on just a first glance. But Erinn Hayes and Scott Foley are literally always great in everything, and her clarifying comparison legitimately made me interested enough to check it out. So if I'm already sold on it, I know there are many others out there who would be even more primed to watch.
Thankfully, no waiting is required, as It's Not Like That debuted its first two episodes on Wonder Project (available as an add-on for Amazon Prime subscriptions) on Sunday, January 25, with new episodes releasing once per week for the remaining six episodes.
