Lucifer Co-Showrunner Says Not So Fast on God as Season 5B’s Big Bad

So far, the new year is looking to be a promising one for Lucifans. Shortly after Lucifer stars Tom Ellis and Lesley-Ann Brandt posted that they had started their work-out regiments with Paolo Mascitti to get back into series shape again, Brandt dropped a whole bunch of very cool teasers and previews for both Season 5B and Season 6. Now, series co-showrunner Joe Henderson is offering up some intel on what God’s (Dennis Haysbert) intentions are now that He’s back to keep his kids Lucifer, Michael (both Tom Ellis), Maze (Brandt), and Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside) from tearing each other apart.

Speaking exclusively with CBR, Henderson emphasized that it was important for Haysbert’s God to have a sense of warmth and feeling- that even as God, He was still somewhat approachable and relatable. “Well, I’ll tell you one of the main things we wanted to do, is we didn’t want God to come down and just start giving answers,” Henderson explained. “I think what’s so interesting about our show is that for the entirety of it, God has been this outside force, this unknowable force. So much of Season 5 has been about Lucifer reckoning with the fact that God’s not the enemy. But, God is just a father trying to do right by his son.” The co-showrunner continued, “But, also, it’s been about Lucifer ping-ponging between thoughts that [God] isn’t, or is [doing right by him], and frustration over why God can’t just tell him things, which is a very relatable thought for any child who just wants their father or mother or parent to just tell them what they’re thinking.”

Viewers should be expecting an Almighty who won’t be so easy to classify as either a hero of a villain- and that just because “The All-Knowing” has entered the scene doesn’t necessarily mean that answers are coming easily- or at all. “The answer is, it’s always much more complicated than that. And so, the trick was if we’re gonna bring God down, how do we maintain the godliness? How do we make sure that he can start answering things without just volunteering everything? A lot of that is the arc of Season 5b. God’s here, but well, is he just more mysterious than ever? Or can I start actually getting the answers that I’ve wanted? That’s a big part of the story we wanted to tell.” Realizing that a number of viewers were expecting God to be the “big bad,” Henderson stressed that God’s story is much more complete and layered than that without losing sight of the familial aspects. “To me, it’s just a father story,” he said. “Making God the hero of his own story, as we do to every character on the show, and exploring his own path of pain and heroism was incredibly important.”

While Lucifans wait for news on the series’ return, here’s a look back at those two special “fan-cam” moments offering brief teases of what fans will be getting when the second half of Season 5 debuts. At the end of the first clip, Chloe Decker (Lauren German) wants to know where God took his family. In the second clip, viewers get a look back at the first half of the season before a brief look at what’s to come- with “dear old dad” God having to ask Lucifer something…

Lucifer, bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, resigns his throne and abandons his kingdom for the gorgeous, shimmering insanity of Los Angeles, where he gets his kicks helping the LAPD…and the savvy detective Chloe Decker in particular. In Part A of season 5, Lucifer’s twin brother Michael secretly takes the devil’s place on earth while he’s back in Hell. Eventually, Lucifer must return and face the mess his brother made with his life. He’ll also finally confront his feelings for Chloe, and answer a question fans have been asking since the very beginning: “will they or won’t they”?

Last month, Lucifans learned that Merrin Dungey (Big Little Lies, Star Trek: Picard) and Brianna Hildebrand (Deadpool, Tragedy Girls) were joining the cast for its final season. Dungey’s Sonya is a no-nonsense uniform cop who forms an unlikely bond with Amenadiel. Hildebrand’s Rory is a rebellious, angsty, and ready-to-start-some-trouble angel hoping to follow in Lucifer’s footsteps. Small problem. It doesn’t take too long for Rory to realize Lucifer isn’t exactly the devilish big bro she hoped he’d be.

Speaking of the sixth season, how about some intel on the episodes in the form of titles, directors, and writers? Because that’s what the show’s writers have offered over the past few weeks. For our first eight chapters, we have (with directors/writers) “Nothing Ever Changes Around Here” (Kevin Alejandro/ Mike Costa), “Buckets of Baggage” (Richard Speight Jr. / Jen Graham Imada), “Yabba Dabba Do Me” (Nathan Hope / Joe Henderson), “Pin the Tail on the Baddie” (Viet Nguyen / Carly Woodworth), “The Murder of Lucifer Morningstar” (Lisa Demaine / Lloyd Gilyard Jr.), “A Lot Dirtier Than That” (Claudia Yarmy / Ildy Modrovich), “My Best Fiend” (Nathan Hope / Julia Fontana), “Save the Devil, Save the World” (DB Woodside / Aiyana White), and “Goodbye, Lucifer” (Karen Gaviola / Chris Rafferty).