PRIMETIME PREACHER$

Primetime Preacher$ Exposes the Scandals Behind America’s Televangelist Empires

They preached faith to millions of Americans.

They built enormous television empires.

And behind the scenes, a bitter rivalry was developing that would eventually become a national scandal.

Primetime Preacher$ is a Netflix documentary examining the rise and controversies surrounding Jim Bakker, Jerry Falwell and Jimmy Swaggart, three of the most influential televangelists of the 1980s.

During television's golden age of religious broadcasting, these men transformed traditional preaching into something much bigger.

Their programs reached millions of viewers, turning religious leaders into household names and their ministries into powerful broadcasting organizations.

Television became their pulpit.

And the audiences kept growing.

With enormous followings, expanding financial resources and increasing public influence, the three men became major figures in American religious life.

Their reach also extended beyond religion.

As televangelism grew, evangelical leaders became increasingly involved in American politics, helping reshape the relationship between religious organizations, political movements and the media.

But beneath the public messages of faith and morality, tensions were building.

Competition, personal ambition and rivalries began threatening the empires they had created.

Then came the scandals.

In 1987, Jim Bakker's PTL ministry became engulfed in controversy involving sexual misconduct allegations and financial irregularities, eventually leading to the collapse of his broadcasting empire.

The fallout intensified conflicts among some of America's most recognizable religious broadcasters, bringing their competing ambitions and personal relationships into the national spotlight.

What followed was a very public battle involving accusations, shifting alliances and questions about the power these men had accumulated.

Directed by Academy Award nominee Joe Berlinger, known for Paradise Lost and Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, the documentary uses archival footage and firsthand accounts to revisit the events that shook American televangelism.

But Primetime Preacher$ isn't simply about the downfall of prominent television personalities.

It's also an examination of how faith, entertainment, money and political influence became intertwined during a transformative period in American broadcasting.

For millions of viewers, these men represented religious leadership and spiritual guidance.

Behind the television cameras, however, their relationships and ambitions told a much more complicated story.

They built their empires in the name of faith. The scandals revealed just how much power was at stake.

Primetime Preacher$ begins streaming November 20, 2026, on Netflix.