Playing a religious character without making faith the punchline

I started watching this show a few weeks ago called Somebody Somewhere on HBO and raved about it to anyone who would listen. A lot of things struck me about it — the fullness of the queer characters for one, and the authenticity of the dialogue. But even more so for me, it stood out because of the way it represented religion through a character named Joel.

He's the best friend in this story. The main character is a woman named Sam, played by Bridget Everett. Sam has moved back to her hometown in Kansas and she ends up reconnecting with this guy she went to high school with: Joel. The two of them fill voids in each other's lives in this beautiful way.

Joel feels an emptiness after leaving his church (a self-imposed punishment after telling a fairly innocuous lie to the minister). So Sam, who has zero interest in religion and has hardly stepped foot inside a place of worship, volunteers to take Joel "church shopping" one Sunday morning. It's a sweet scene about selflessness and the deep understanding that