# Messiah (2020)

> A wary CIA officer hunts the truth about a charismatic man whose growing spiritual movement is stirring political unrest.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/69587

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 10
- Episode runtime: 43 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: drama, thriller
- Created by: Michael Petroni
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Mehdi Dehbi, Michelle Monaghan, John Ortiz, Tomer Sisley, Stefania LaVie Owen, Sayyid El Alami, Wil Traval, Jane Adams
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7671598/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: tense, paranoid, contemplative, brooding, unsettling

## What critics say

Audiences rate the single season positively, praising its intriguing central mystery and understated approach to a provocative premise.

## Synopsis

Messiah is a 2020 American spiritual thriller created by Michael Petroni for Netflix, a single-season run of ten hour-long episodes that was later canceled. Michelle Monaghan plays Eva Geller, a wary CIA officer who begins investigating a charismatic man known as al-Masih (Mehdi Dehbi), whose growing following sparks a spiritual movement and stirs political unrest across several countries. Her engine is a question that never stops pulling: who exactly is this man, and what does he want? Each episode tightens the net around her as she gathers intelligence, weighs rumors against witnesses, and navigates the suspicions of colleagues and the agitations of the crowds drawn to him. The series sits in a present-day world of intelligence agencies, religious fervor, and regional tension, shaped by the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the threat of extremist groups. Its mood is tense, paranoid, and quietly unsettling, with a contemplative undercurrent about faith and power. Fans of Homeland, The Leftovers, and The Night Manager will find resonance in its blend of espionage procedure, spiritual ambiguity, and political dread.

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