Prime Video pulls back the curtain on the darker side of Evangelical teen pop culture with the second season of Shiny Happy People, titled Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War.
This installment of the divisive docuseries examines the trend of teenage evangelists and Christian rock targeted at youth audiences. The series scrutinizes how faith-based organizations used elements of popular culture, particularly music and pop idol worship, to influence teens across the country and draw them into a strict religious lifestyle.
Here is a look at everything we know so far about Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War.
When does Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War come out?
The series will premiere on June 23 with all four episodes released simultaneously on Prime Video.
What was the Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets about?
Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets took a deep dive into the controversial Duggar family, exploring their relationship with the media, each other, and the Institute in Basic Life Principles, the fundamentalist Christian organization they publicly represented.
The family first rose to fame on the TLC reality series 19 Kids and Counting, where their “strong family values” became the show’s central theme. However, that wholesome image began to crumble after eldest son Josh Duggar was convicted of possessing illicit materials involving minors and allegations of abuse surfaced.
The series also examined the Duggars’ connection to Bill Gothard, founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles. Gothard promoted a rigid doctrine of “family values,” which included strict adherence to the Bible, the submission of women to male authority, homeschooling, and the encouragement of large families. He ultimately stepped down from the organization after nearly three dozen women accused him of sexual harassment and assault.
What is the focus of Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War?
Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War explores how fundamentalist Christian movements aimed to capture a younger audience in the ’90s and ’00s by blending youth ministry with pop culture, repackaged through a zealous lens. Through a series of stadium events known as “Acquire the Fire,” teens would flock to arenas to watch performers sing about salvation and take public purity pledges. These gatherings attracted thousands of teenagers with high-energy Christian rock, emotional sermons, and messages promoting abstinence until marriage.
However, not every concert is simply a cringey rock show with a Jesus motif. Behind the colorful costumes and loud guitar riffs were adults pulling the strings, using youth ministers and religious boy bands as instruments of influence, some of which led to darker intentions including enrollment in brutal bootcamps and psychological control.
The series examines the lasting impact these experiences had on former attendees and highlights the stories of those who later questioned the ideology they once embraced.
Who is behind Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War?
The docuseries is directed by award-winning filmmakers Nicole Newnham and Cori Shepherd.
Newnham received an Oscar nomination for co-directing and co-producing Crip Camp (2020), a documentary about a New York summer camp for people with disabilities whose campers went on to play key roles in the creation of the disability rights movement. She also directed The Disappearance of Shere Hite (2023), which explored the life and legacy of the pioneering sex educator.
Shepherd produced the documentaries Bending the Arc (2017) and Open Heart (2012), as well as the zombie romantic comedy Warm Bodies (2013).
Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War, June 23, Prime Video