Danny McBride has said he thinks many Hollywood comedies tackle religion in an “insulting” way and he wanted to avoid that with his series The Righteous Gemstones.
The US actor created and stars in the show, which follows a dysfunctional family of televangelists.
He said: “I feel like when I was looking at how a lot of comedies from Hollywood would tackle religion, there’s something very insulting about it.
“It’s like you can always tell it’s written by someone who doesn’t believe, and because of that, I feel like there’s no real truth in it. It’s just mocking people for what they believe.
“There doesn’t seem to be something that funny about that. It just feels a little obnoxious.”
The actor said he thinks comedy has “just completely disappeared from the movies”.
McBride, who has appeared in comedies such as Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express, said: “It’s like if a studio can make billions of dollars on a superhero movie, why will they invest in trying to make just a few million off of whether a comedy will hit or miss?
“I think there’s so many options for people at home, and everything’s so specific in comedy; ultimately, it’s specific, it’s very subjective so I feel like more and more people have options at their house they can watch,” he added.
Watch all episodes of The Righteous Gemstones on demand on Sky Comedy and streaming service NOW TV from February 5.