Netflix’s Primetime Preacher$ revisited the explosive scandal that brought televangelist Jim Bakker’s religious empire crashing down in 1987. The documentary also examined how his bitter rivalry with Jimmy Swaggart and Jerry Falwell exposed the ambition behind America’s booming televangelism industry.
The film traced how three influential preachers built broadcasting empires and helped shift evangelical Christianity into American politics. Their public feud intensified after allegations against Bakker sparked national outrage and threatened the movement’s carefully cultivated image.
The Netflix documentary examines Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart and Jerry Falwell
According to PEOPLE, the documentary’s trailer explored Bakker’s rise alongside wife Tammy Faye through their program, The PTL Club. Their multimillion-dollar ministry collapsed in 1987 amid sexual scandal and financial fraud. Bakker died on October 5 at age 86.
One expert reflected, “It’s hard to see how something so magnificent got to something so wrong.” The trailer also showed Swaggart preaching, “God deliver us from these pompadour boys,” highlighting the animosity between the televangelists.
The film revisited Jessica Hahn’s allegations that Bakker sexually assaulted her. News footage captured the scandal’s explosive coverage, including an anchor’s description: “A sex scandal, blackmail and drug addiction…” One expert recalled the public’s “shock and disbelief,” while another observed that “everything just came crumbling down” for Bakker.
Academy Award nominee Joe Berlinger directed the documentary. Netflix described it as an investigation into “the combustible mix of faith, ambition, scandal, and rivalry that defined the golden age of televangelism.”
Berlinger explained his interest in the subject in a statement. “Primetime Preacher$ explores another chapter in that fascination: how three larger-than-life televangelists, Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart and Jerry Falwell, turned religion into entertainment, built media empires, and helped transform evangelical Christianity into a formidable political force.”
He added that archival footage and firsthand accounts revisited their bitter rivalries and their influence on American religion, media and politics.
Jason Bateman also produced the documentary alongside Berlinger, Emma Ho and Michael Costigan. Alana Goldstein, Nasar Abich, Tom Cappello and Jon Kamen served as executive producers. Primetime Preacher$ premieres on Netflix on November 20 and will bring a turbulent chapter of televangelism back into the spotlight.
