The NBC comedy Superstore spent their January 25 episode exploring the difference between things that are real, things that are imaginary, and things that were once real but are now extinct. The episode title "Angels and Mermaids" might give you a clue as to how they treat faith in those discussions.
Cheyenne (Nichole Bloom) is planning a mermaid-themed birthday party for her daughter, and the other employees are helping her out with party favors in the breakroom. This quickly devolves into deeper discussions about all things mermaid between the employees of Cloud 9. First, it gets weird. Then, it gets into typical liberal bashing of faith.
Marcus: If I were a mer-man, I'd clean up.
Cheyenne: I think you'd be a mer-man.
Amy: Yeah, I don't really buy mermen as a thing.
Cheyenne: Then how did they use to, you know... [Bleep]? Unless that's why they went extinct.
Marcus: They didn't go extinct. They lost their tails over the course of centuries and turned into humans. It's called evolution.
Jonah: I don't think so.
Marcus: Okay, fine, God made us.
Cody: Look at the human eye. It's too complicated.
Jonah: No, I believe in evolution. I'm just saying it's make believe--it's like unicorns.
Sandra: We don't know that there were never unicorns. I read that we discover like 50 new species of frogs each year. Maybe scientists just haven't discovered unicorns yet.
Jonah: Frogs are tiny. I think somebody would've noticed a unicorn.
Sandra: A lot of people believe unicorns exist.
Jonah: A lot of people believe in Bigfoot. A lot of people believe in angels!
Kelly: I believe in angels.
Jonah: [Scoffs] No, you don't.
Kelly: Yeah, I do.
This is a prime example of how little Hollywood understands middle America. This show takes place in St Louis, and only one person speaks out for God? Only one says she believes in angels? In reality, the majority of people in St Louis identify as religious, like the majority of Americans. Even most people in Los Angeles identify as people of faith. We are a country of religious people. Liberal hipster Jonah (Ben Feldman) doesn't get it, but more people in that breakroom should.
As for believing in angels, that's not at all like believing in mermaids or Bigfoot, angels are in the Bible. Still, later in the episode, Jonah is back to mocking his girlfriend Kelly (Kelly Stables) for believing in them. When Kelly says that leprechauns shouldn't have been put in the "real" column, he responds sarcastically, "Who knows though, right?"
His arrogance is astounding as he looks down on Christians, which is how more than 80 percent of Americans identify. Even when they're trying to portray middle America, Hollywood still can't get it right.
