The OA (Netflix, 2016-2019) is the supernatural drama about a blind woman who resurfaces after years of disappearance with a connection to near-death experiences and dimensions. One of Netflix's most explicitly spiritual and concerning shows for Christians.
The OA (Netflix, 2016-2019) is a science fiction/fantasy drama series created by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij. It follows Prairie Johnson (Brit Marling), a blind woman who returns after seven years of captivity with her sight restored and calls herself "The OA" (Original Angel). She gathers a small group — including troubled teenagers — and begins teaching them mysterious "movements" she claims will open a tunnel between dimensions.
The OA is one of the most genuinely strange and ambitious shows Netflix has produced — it blends near-death experience mythology, dimensional travel theory, and what functions as a new religion invented by the show's characters. It was cancelled after two seasons, leaving its central mysteries unresolved.
The OA's central spiritual framework is a syncretistic new religion invented by the show — drawing on NDE (near-death experience) mythology, angelic beings, and mystical movements that enable dimension travel. The show presents this framework with genuine sincerity and beauty, which makes it more spiritually formative than if it were presented as obviously false.
Prairie's experiences — which the show presents as potentially real rather than clearly delusional — include encounters with beings who give her supernatural gifts and a mission to complete "movements" that function as spiritual practice. For Christians: this is not Christian theology dressed up in new language — it is a genuinely different spiritual framework that contradicts Christian understanding of angels, the afterlife, and spiritual practice.
The OA is genuinely ambitious and emotionally affecting — its exploration of trauma, belief, community, and the human need for transcendence resonates with real spiritual longing. The relationships between the core characters are genuinely moving. Brit Marling's performance is extraordinary. The show grapples with questions about consciousness, identity, and what lies beyond death that Christians find theologically interesting even when the answers offered are non-Christian.
For mature Christian adults who can engage with the show critically — watching the spiritual framework with discernment rather than absorbing it — The OA raises genuinely interesting questions. For teenagers: the show's mystical framework is more spiritually formative than is wise for viewers without established Christian foundations. Available on Netflix. See our Netflix guide and Christian TV Reviews hub.
GodlyScore evaluates every show across nine signal categories grounded in Scripture: profanity (Ephesians 4:29), sexual content (1 Corinthians 6:18-20), violence (Psalm 11:5), LGBT normalization (Romans 1:24-27), spiritual darkness (Ephesians 5:11), glorification of sin (Romans 1:32), deception mechanics (Proverbs 12:22), virtue strength (Philippians 4:8), and redemption arc. The score reflects not just whether content is present but how it's framed — depicted critically, neutrally, or as aspirational. The Oa scores 15/100 Avoid.
See our Christian TV Reviews hub for comparisons. For episode-level content breakdowns, Plugged In and Common Sense Media complement GodlyScore's biblical framework. Age recommendation: mature adults only.
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