7 sort-of deadly sins in Impastor S1-2

Update: Impastor is no longer on Showmax. Find your next binge in the full series catalogue here.

“Ye who hath not sinned may casteth the first stone!” If there’s a binge-able series worth skipping Sunday School for, it’s Impastor (2015-2016). Both seasons can be found on the Showmax catalogue, and you’re guaranteed to learn more about sinning and why it’s not right from the sitcom than any other series.

“I didn’t want to do this show at first until I got the go ahead that we could do the show we wanted,” explains Michael Rosenbaum. He plays degenerate lowlife gambler Buddy Dobbs who hits the jackpot when he meets a newly deceased gay priest named Jonathan Barlow.

How is that a blessing? “He’s on the run from loansharks that he owes a lot of money to,” adds the actor. “By taking Pastor Barlow’s place in the small backward town of Ladner, he has the perfect cover to escape.”

And luckily for Buddy, the residents of Ladner who make up his new congregation aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, otherwise they’d spot these 7 deadly sins that almost blow Buddy’s vestment. We mean cover story.

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Sin 1: Thou shalt not partake in woman flesh

While Buddy loves babes, his church-leading alter ego is very much into men. “There are love triangles, I mean – come on!” laughs Michael. “This guy is a pastor and he’s gay and that’s okay. But this other guy (Buddy) likes women. He’s even caught in bed with a prostitute and he comes up with these outrageous excuses. ‘It’s an accident, I swear.’ And the people believe him. Including his PA Dora (Sara Rue).”

Sin 2: Thou shalt not tell untruths

Buddy’s been committing this sin since episode 1 – armed with a dead pastor’s identity, wallet, ID, driver’s licence and job, he’s been impersonating him from the get-go. He’s got to be careful though, because the real Pastor Barlow had friends in his previous community who may just drop by unannounced to visit and see how he’s settling in. And it’s not like they’re as naïve as Buddy’s congregation… or are they?

Sin 3: Thou shalt do one’s homework

Okay, so the closest that Buddy got to a church was, well… when he walked into this job. He’s clueless about the good word of the lord. He’s got no idea about sermons. And he can’t tell a homily from a psalm. So what’s a man of the cloth to do in a tight spot? Improvise! Instead of doing actual prep work, Buddy tunes into a late-night televangelist show and plagiarises the sermon. Now if only his biggest opposition in the church hadn’t been watching the same show!

Sin 4: Thou shalt not steal

Okay, so this is one of the actual commandments in The Bible, but it definitely applies to Buddy and his current tight spot. The guy steals a ruby necklace off a corpse right before the memorial service in his church. “This guy has literally no morals,” laughs the lead actor. “There’s nothing below him. Nothing too dodgy. Nothing too zany. Nothing. He will steal from his own dead grandma.”

The only thing that makes him repent for his sin and put the necklace back where it belongs is when the dead woman’s family recognise it and say that they’ll go down to the morgue the next morning to have a look at their late relative’s body…

Sin 5: Thou shalt not interfere with police investigations no matter how much trouble thou shalt land in

Buddy’s been lying since episode 1 and he’s skipped literally every chance to come clean. Even when the cops have him under arrest (as Pastor Barlow), he still manages to lie his way deeper into trouble. You’d think that someone who’s been in and out of jail more times than he can count would know that the truth has a way of getting out, no matter how deep your lies. Especially when you try to convince the police that you’re a deep, deep, deeeeep-undercover FBI agent investigating the murder of a priest…

Sin 6: Thou shalt not use the weak-minded for thy addictions

We weren’t joking when we said that Buddy was a low-life… or that he’s addicted to gambling. Dora asks him to help her with her bingo addiction and while she’s being sincere, Buddy sees an opportunity to score some quick cash and pay off some of his debt. Instead of talking her out of going to bingo, Buddy gets Dora to bet for him. And while the congregation can overlook the good pastor’s sexual orientation, no one said anything about him being a gambling addict when he applied for his job…

Sin 7: Thou shalt not kill

This is a biggie and almost gets Buddy caught. He kills a guy. Okay, so it was legitimately in self-defence… but his fingerprints are on the murder weapon, someone witnessed the murder and, well, his fingerprints are all over the murder weapon. You’d think that there’s no way Pastor Barlow can explain his way out of this, but hey, Buddy is a smooth-talking, slick conman who specialises in getting out of tight spots. Every dog will have his day, but for now, the impastor is safe and sound preaching from the pulpit.