The new family drama It’s Not Like That starts its story with two families learning how to ask for help. In the first two episodes, Pastor Malcolm Jeffries, a recent widower, takes a big step by openly telling his church community that he is not okay and needs their support. This moment happens alongside growing feelings between Malcolm and his late wife’s best friend, Lori Soto, who is also navigating life as a newly divorced mother. The series, which premiered on January 25, 2026, on Wonder Project via Prime Video, shows how faith, friendship, and family intertwine during difficult times.
The Core of the Story: Two Families Bound by Loss
It’s Not Like That introduces viewers to two households living across the street from each other, connected by long-time friendship and recent heartbreak. Malcolm, played by Scott Foley, is returning to his role as pastor at Grace Community Church after a year of bereavement leave following his wife Jenny’s death from cancer. He is struggling to guide his three children through their grief while managing his own.
His oldest daughter, Flora, is angry at God and questions her faith after losing her mother. His middle child, Penelope, is trying to fit in with a popular but mean group of girls at school, which strains her longtime friendship. His youngest son, Justin, is a quiet boy who expresses his emotions through cooking and faces bullying at school.
Lori, portrayed by Erinn Hayes, is dealing with the aftermath of her divorce from David, who left her shortly after Jenny passed away. Her son, Merritt, is full of anger about his parents’ split and feels stuck. Her daughter, Casey, finds herself adrift when her best friend Penelope starts ignoring her, leading Casey to quit cheerleading and join the school’s wrestling team instead.
The adults have leaned on each other for emotional support, but in the premiere, their friendship takes an unexpected turn.
A Moment of Connection and Complication
A key scene in the first episode occurs after a stressful day. Both Malcolm and Lori end up crying in their cars in the school parking lot, overwhelmed by their respective struggles. They later meet that night during a rainstorm, seeking solace in each other’s company. While talking in Malcolm’s car, they share a sudden, passionate kiss.
The kiss leaves both characters confused. Lori later tells Malcolm she believes it was a mistake, worrying that pursuing a romance could risk their friendship and destabilize their already fragile families. However, by the end of the second episode, Malcolm confesses that the kiss made him feel truly alive for the first time since his wife’s death, reopening the question of what their future holds. Their moment is overheard by Merritt, adding another layer of tension.
Scott Foley, who plays Malcolm, and Erinn Hayes, who plays Lori, are praised for their believable chemistry, which makes the characters’ complex relationship compelling to watch.
Malcolm’s Vulnerable Return to the Pulpit
Parallel to this personal drama is Malcolm’s professional journey back to his church. He feels pressure to deliver a perfect sermon for his return but finds himself unable to write one. Instead of a prepared speech, he chooses to speak from the heart. He admits to his congregation that he is not okay, sharing that his young son Justin had asked him that very question.
Malcolm directly asks his church community for their support, stating he has faith that he will be okay again with God’s grace and their help. This raw display of vulnerability defines his return and sets the tone for his pastoral approach. The show presents a pastor who is more focused on love, acceptance, and community than on theological doctrine, which some reviewers note makes his Christianity feel more generic or therapeutic.
The Kids Forge Their Own Paths Through Grief
While the adults navigate their complex emotions, the teenagers in the show are dealing with their own substantial challenges, often feeling overlooked by their parents.
Flora and Merritt form a close bond as two older kids who understand each other’s pain. In a vulnerable moment in the second episode, Flora shows Merritt scars on her arm from a past period of self-harm, revealing the depth of her struggle after her mother’s death. She finds an outlet in writing, while Merritt explores drumming.
Casey stands up for herself and her brother. After a viral video mocks her wrestling, she confronts the boy who started rumors about her and defeats him in a match. She also protects Justin when he is beaten up by a bully, while Penelope freezes and watches. This act helps repair the rift between the former best friends.
Justin mostly suffers in silence, baking cupcakes and cooking meatloaf as a way to feel close to his mother. His bullying escalates in the second episode, leading to the physical confrontation that Casey breaks up.
Penelope wrestles with guilt as she tries to stay popular. She lies about knowing who made the mean video of Casey but later finds the courage to demand it be taken down. She apologizes to Justin for not helping him, showing she is caught between her new social group and her loyalties to her family and old friend.
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A Show Built on Family and Faith Foundations
The series is created by Ian Deitchman and Kristin Rusk Robinson, who previously worked on the family drama Parenthood, and it shares that show’s focus on multi-generational storytelling. It is produced and distributed by Wonder Project, a studio known for faith-based content, and is available as part of Prime Video.
Reviewers have compared the show’s warm, family-centric tone to series like 7th Heaven and This Is Us, but with a more central and nuanced focus on faith. The faith element is woven into the characters’ daily lives and struggles rather than presented as a separate sermon.
The show’s title, It’s Not Like That, reflects a core theme: people and situations are more complex than they appear on the surface, and everyone carries hidden burdens that deserve grace and understanding.
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