# Miracle Workers (2019 TV series)
**Miracle Workers** is an American anthology comedy television series that aired on TBS from February 12, 2019 to August 28, 2023, in which a returning ensemble cast led by [Daniel Radcliffe](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-radcliffe) and [Steve Buscemi](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-buscemi) played new characters in a new setting each season. It was created by [Simon Rich](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-rich), adapted from his own fiction for the first two seasons, and produced by Lorne Michaels's Broadway Video.[1](https://www.thewrap.com/miracle-workers-canceled-tbs-4-seasons/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/miracle_workers)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | TBS, February 12, 2019 to August 28, 2023; four seasons[1](https://www.thewrap.com/miracle-workers-canceled-tbs-4-seasons/) |
| Format | Seasonal anthology: the same cast plays different characters in a different setting and genre each season[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/miracle_workers) |
| Creator | Simon Rich, creator of *Man Seeking Woman* and a former *Saturday Night Live* writer; executive produced with Lorne Michaels of Broadway Video[1](https://www.thewrap.com/miracle-workers-canceled-tbs-4-seasons/) |
| Main cast | Steve Buscemi, Daniel Radcliffe, Geraldine Viswanathan, Karan Soni, and Jon Bass[1](https://www.thewrap.com/miracle-workers-canceled-tbs-4-seasons/) |
| Season settings | Heaven (season 1), the Dark Ages (season 2), the Oregon Trail in 1844 (season 3), a dystopian future (season 4, *End Times*)[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/miracle-workers-cancelled-season-5-ending-tbs-1235084087/) |
| Episode counts | Seven episodes in season 1; ten episodes in each of seasons 2 through 4[4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/miracle-workers) |
| End | Cancelled by TBS on November 21, 2023, after which it was the network's last live-action comedy[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/miracle-workers-cancelled-season-5-ending-tbs-1235084087/) |
## Origin and development
TBS greenlit the series in May 2017 as an anthology comedy starring Daniel Radcliffe and [Owen Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/owen-wilson), created by Simon Rich, who was also to serve as showrunner, with [Lorne Michaels](https://www.edgepedia.org/lorne-michaels) executive-producing through Broadway Video in association with Turner's Studio T. The first season was planned as a seven-episode, Heaven-set workplace comedy based on Rich's book *What in God's Name*, with Radcliffe as Craig, a low-level angel handling humanity's prayers, and Wilson as God.[5](https://www.tvweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/TBS-Miracle-Workers_Greenlight-Announcement_05-17-17.pdf) Wilson left the role, and Steve Buscemi was cast as God in his place.[6](https://time.com/5519017/miracle-workers-review-good-place-russian-doll/)
Radcliffe, who also served as an executive producer, said he had read *What in God's Name* and told Rich he wanted to be involved in any adaptation; a year later Rich proposed the anthology structure so that a returning cast could play different characters each season, an arrangement Radcliffe compared to signing on for several long films rather than one long-running role.[7](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/daniel-radcliffe-on-expanding-his-acting-and-producing-horizons-with-miracle-workers) Rich said the anthology plan shaped the casting from the start: the ensemble needed the versatility to handle a different premise every year.[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/1008003/miracle-workers-season-3-oregon-trail-simon-rich-book/)
## Seasons
**Season 1 (2019).** The seven-episode first season adapts Rich's 2012 satirical novel *What in God's Name*. Heaven is run as a corporation, Heaven Inc., where God (Buscemi) is a disengaged chief executive planning to destroy Earth, and angels Craig (Radcliffe) and Eliza ([Geraldine Viswanathan](https://www.edgepedia.org/geraldine-viswanathan)) of the neglected Department of Answered Prayers have two weeks to save the planet by getting two awkward mortals to kiss.[6](https://time.com/5519017/miracle-workers-review-good-place-russian-doll/) • [9](https://www.tvinsider.com/747222/miracle-workers-series-premiere-daniel-radcliffe/) The season premiered February 12, 2019 at 10:30 p.m.[10](https://press.wbd.com/ca/media-release/miracle-workers-premiere-february-12-tbs?language_content_entity=en)
**Season 2: Dark Ages (2020).** The second season moved the cast to the Middle Ages and was based on Rich's short story "Revolution," from his collection *New Teeth*; it centers on medieval villagers coping with extreme income inequality, poor healthcare, and widespread ignorance.[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/1008003/miracle-workers-season-3-oregon-trail-simon-rich-book/) • [11](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/28278/miracle-workers) Radcliffe played Prince Chauncley the Pretty Cool.[12](https://www.avclub.com/miracle-workers-has-worked-its-final-miracle-for-tbs-1851041062) TBS reported that *Dark Ages* ranked as a top five cable comedy and reached 27.5 million viewers across the network's linear and digital platforms.[13](https://press.wbd.com/us/ca/media-release/tbs-0/miracle-workers/tbs-orders-new-season-top-rated-comedy-anthology-series-miracle-workers)
**Season 3: Oregon Trail (2021).** Ordered in October 2020, the third season transported the cast to the American Old West. Taking place in 1844, the story centers on a small-town preacher with lofty ideals (Radcliffe) who joins forces with an outlaw on the run (Buscemi) and a prairie wife who has freed herself (Viswanathan), and the three guide a wagon train toward the West along the [Oregon Trail](https://www.edgepedia.org/oregon-trail). Dan Mirk and Robert Padnick took over as showrunners, and Rich remained an executive producer while no longer running the show; the season was an entirely original story, not an adaptation.[13](https://press.wbd.com/us/ca/media-release/tbs-0/miracle-workers/tbs-orders-new-season-top-rated-comedy-anthology-series-miracle-workers) • [8](https://www.tvinsider.com/1008003/miracle-workers-season-3-oregon-trail-simon-rich-book/) [California Film Commission](https://www.edgepedia.org/california-film-commission) records list the season's approved tax credit at $20,050,000.[14](https://film.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/All-Programs-Approved-Projects-1.pdf)
**Season 4: End Times (2023).** The fourth season premiered July 10, 2023, after a delay from an earlier planned date, and ran ten episodes to an August 28 finale.[15](https://press.wbd.com/us/property/miracle-workers) • [1](https://www.thewrap.com/miracle-workers-canceled-tbs-4-seasons/) Buscemi, Radcliffe, Viswanathan, Soni, and [Jon Bass](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-bass-actor) played all-new characters in a dystopian future "full of radioactive mutants, killer robots and a tyrannical homeowner's association with outrageous annual fees." Guest stars included [Quinta Brunson](https://www.edgepedia.org/quinta-brunson), Garcelle Beauvais, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Lolly Adefope, Paul F. Tompkins, and [Lisa Loeb](https://www.edgepedia.org/lisa-loeb).[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/miracle-workers-cancelled-season-5-ending-tbs-1235084087/) The season's approved California tax credit was $22,816,000.[14](https://film.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/All-Programs-Approved-Projects-1.pdf)
## Cancellation
On November 21, 2023, roughly three months after the season 4 finale, TBS canceled *Miracle Workers* after four seasons. It was the network's last remaining live-action comedy; after the cancellation, the animated *American Dad!* stood as TBS's last scripted original.[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/miracle-workers-cancelled-season-5-ending-tbs-1235084087/) The show had already survived one close call: in January 2023, during [Warner Bros. Discovery](https://www.edgepedia.org/warner-bros-discovery) content cuts, it was removed from the schedule before being restored for a summer run.[12](https://www.avclub.com/miracle-workers-has-worked-its-final-miracle-for-tbs-1851041062) [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club) noted that the series was never a ratings smash but that its star power let it keep building high concept upon high concept, in a season-to-season anthology structure the site compared to the BBC's *Blackadder*.[12](https://www.avclub.com/miracle-workers-has-worked-its-final-miracle-for-tbs-1851041062)
## Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an average Tomatometer of 84% from 57 critic reviews and 75% from more than 250 audience ratings. By season, season 1 scored 75%, *Dark Ages* 78%, and *End Times* 100%.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/miracle_workers) Season 1's critics consensus called it "more charming than clever," a showcase of Radcliffe and Buscemi's quirky star power.[16](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/miracle_workers/s01) On Metacritic, season 1 received a metascore of 61, based on 19 critic reviews, indicating generally favorable reception.[17](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/miracle-workers-2019/season-1/)
Reviewers placed the show within a cluster of afterlife comedies of the period. Time's review grouped it with NBC's *The Good Place*, Amazon's *Forever*, and Netflix's *[Russian Doll](https://www.edgepedia.org/russian-doll-tv-series)*, calling *Miracle Workers* lighter, sillier, and often raunchier than those predecessors, and reading its Heaven Inc. premise as a bleak analogy in which one person's answered prayer is another's curse.[6](https://time.com/5519017/miracle-workers-review-good-place-russian-doll/) The Los Angeles Times found the television adaptation lightweight and fluffy, easy to watch but ephemeral.[18](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-miracle-workers-review-tbs-buscemi-radcliffe-20190211-story.html)
## References
1. ['Miracle Workers' Canceled at TBS After 4 Seasons, TheWrap (November 21, 2023)](https://www.thewrap.com/miracle-workers-canceled-tbs-4-seasons/)
2. [Miracle Workers, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/miracle_workers)
3. [Miracle Workers Cancelled After 4 Seasons At TBS (Exclusive), TVLine (November 21, 2023)](https://www.tvline.com/news/miracle-workers-cancelled-season-5-ending-tbs-1235084087/)
4. [Miracle Workers, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/miracle-workers)
5. [TBS Greenlights Anthology Comedy Miracle Workers, Starring Daniel Radcliffe and Owen Wilson, TVWeek (May 17, 2017)](https://www.tvweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/TBS-Miracle-Workers_Greenlight-Announcement_05-17-17.pdf)
6. [Steve Buscemi and Daniel Radcliffe's Miracle Workers Confirms It: The Afterlife Comedy Is a Trend, Time (February 4, 2019)](https://time.com/5519017/miracle-workers-review-good-place-russian-doll/)
7. [Daniel Radcliffe on expanding his acting and producing horizons with Miracle Workers, SYFY WIRE (February 25, 2019)](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/daniel-radcliffe-on-expanding-his-acting-and-producing-horizons-with-miracle-workers)
8. ['Miracle Workers' EP Simon Rich on Short Stories, Big Swings & the Anthology's Heavenly Cast, TV Insider (August 3, 2021)](https://www.tvinsider.com/1008003/miracle-workers-season-3-oregon-trail-simon-rich-book/)
9. ['Miracle Workers' Star Daniel Radcliffe Describes His First Lead Role on a U.S. TV Show, TV Insider (February 11, 2019)](https://www.tvinsider.com/747222/miracle-workers-series-premiere-daniel-radcliffe/)
10. [Miracle Workers to Premiere February 12 on TBS, Warner Bros. Discovery Pressroom (December 5, 2018)](https://press.wbd.com/ca/media-release/miracle-workers-premiere-february-12-tbs?language_content_entity=en)
11. [Miracle Workers, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/28278/miracle-workers)
12. [Miracle Workers has worked its final miracle for TBS, The A.V. Club (November 22, 2023)](https://www.avclub.com/miracle-workers-has-worked-its-final-miracle-for-tbs-1851041062)
13. [TBS Orders New Season of Top-Rated Comedy Anthology Series MIRACLE WORKERS, Warner Bros. Discovery Pressroom (October 22, 2020)](https://press.wbd.com/us/ca/media-release/tbs-0/miracle-workers/tbs-orders-new-season-top-rated-comedy-anthology-series-miracle-workers)
14. [All Programs Approved Projects, California Film Commission](https://film.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/All-Programs-Approved-Projects-1.pdf)
15. [Property: Miracle Workers, Warner Bros. Discovery Pressroom](https://press.wbd.com/us/property/miracle-workers)
16. [Miracle Workers: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/miracle_workers/s01)
17. [Miracle Workers (2019) season 1 Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/miracle-workers-2019/season-1/)
18. [Review: In 'Miracle Workers,' Steve Buscemi is a slacker God and Daniel Radcliffe is the angel Craig, Los Angeles Times (February 11, 2019)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-miracle-workers-review-tbs-buscemi-radcliffe-20190211-story.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › American sitcoms and comedy series › 2010s cable and streaming comedies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license