Speaking ahead of Mrs. Davis' pre-release screening at Austin's SXSW event to The Hollywood Reporter, executive producers Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof have touched on the sometimes touchy topic of religion, as did we.

Saying that it felt "subversive and terrifying" to write a cool nun-heroine at a time when religious professionals are rarely viewed as heroic.

Having already teased the series' comedic bent, they served up some examples of what to expect in that department.

... there’s also a quest for the Holy Grail, possible Nazis with butterfly nets, nefarious magicians and a teary make-out session with Jesus — and that’s just in the first two episodes.

That is definitely irreverent.

They also fill in a few blanks about the show's artificial antagonist, Mrs. Davis and speak directly to the business end of religious branding.

Instead of the usual evil AI tropes, the team was instead interested in exploring the idea of a system clearly programmed to be benevolent — and how even that could still go wrong. “Instead of the AI wiping out humanity, what would that look like?” Lindelof says. “To us, that felt like the more potentially comedic and interesting way of looking at the God question, which is: What do people turn to God for? How does God make people feel? The thing about AI is it takes away the best part of God’s branding, which is mystery.”

So Mrs. Davis really isn't trying to take over the world or enslave humanity?

Her seemingly ironically toned PR letter was actually genuine?

Curious.

And this will be a "comedic and interesting" look at "the God question" which arrives at the conclusion that A.I. lacks mystery which is the best part of his branding.

Was anyone asking that question before this series came along?

We are still keen on seeing this show but this interview raised more questions for us than it answered.

The first four episodes of Mrs. Davis will premiere on Binge on April 21 with the remaining four releasing weekly.

SXSW Sydney

Just doing some quick checking for this one we stumbled across SXSW's announcement of coming to Australia this year.

SXSW is an Austin, Texas entertainment and technology expo and this year are expanding to Sydney with that event running from October 15-22.

[ Main Image: Mrs. Davis - Betty Gilpin. Credit: Peacock via Binge. ]

References

Hibberd, James (March 9, 2023). SXSW: ‘Mrs. Davis’ Is a Perfectly Timed Warning About AI Madness. The Hollywood Reporter.

Roberts, Jordan (June 29, 2022). Announcing SXSW Sydney: October 15-22, 2023. SXSW.