The viral sketch that divided Christian audiences is becoming a Netflix series Dec. 1, reviving questions about pastoral wealth, fundraising practices and accountability in the church.
By EEW Magazine Online Entertainment Editors
Druski’s multiyear Netflix deal begins with “Collect & Praise,” a semi-scripted comedy series premiering Dec. 1. (Getty Images/Illustration by EEW Magazine Online)
Kirk Franklin’s music opened the sketch. Nine months later, his words have become some of the most pointed commentary on it. In January, comedian Druski posted a parody of a flashy megachurch preacher who descends from the sanctuary ceiling on wires as Franklin’s 1998 hit “Revolution” plays. When the hosts of “The Baller Alert Show” asked Franklin about it Oct. 20, the Grammy-winning gospel artist turned his answer toward the pulpit. “Let’s stop giving him content,” he said.
Franklin added that the comedian had to get the material from somewhere. He pointed to preachers who wear $20,000 jackets while people in their own congregations go hungry.
On Monday, Netflix gave that material a global stage. The streamer announced a multiyear deal with Druski, whose real name is Drew Desbordes, and his production company, 4LIFERS Entertainment. The first project is a semi-scripted comedy series titled “Collect & Praise,” premiering Dec. 1.
Druski brings back his money-hungry pastor. Veteran comedian Mike Epps plays his unpredictable deacon as the two scheme their way through scandal, chaos and controversy, according to Netflix’s description of the show.
Mike Epps performs during the We Them One’s Comedy Tour at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on April 5, 2026. Epps co-stars with Druski in “Collect & Praise” as the unpredictable deacon of a fictional megachurch. (Prince Williams/WireImage)
“Druski has a gift for building characters that people can’t stop talking about,” said John Derderian, the Netflix vice president who oversees Next Gen Content. Netflix will also license parts of Druski’s existing catalog, including “Coulda Been Love,” “Coulda Been Daddy,” “Coulda Been Records Auditions” and his sketches.
In a statement, Druski said the partnership would give him the resources to take his work to audiences around the world.
The original sketch, captioned “Mega Church Pastors LOVE Money,” drew tens of millions of views across platforms. Druski’s preacher shows off a Christian Dior blazer and Christian Louboutin shoes, credits his faith for his Bentley Bentayga and announces a $4 million offering for a project in Zimbabwe. Nobody leaves until the goal is met. In other scenes, he counts stacks of cash. He also drives off from a congregant asking for prayer for his wife once he learns the man has not tithed.
Several of the gags trace back to moments churchgoers had already seen online. The Bentley line nods to a 2018 uproar over a Pittsburgh pastor’s $230,000 Bentley Bentayga, Religion News Service reported. The locked-in offering recalled a viral clip of gospel singer Bishop Marvin Sapp telling ushers to close the doors until his congregation raised $40,000. Sapp has defended the moment as a call to stewardship and said people were still free to come and go. “Not a dime of that money came to me,” he said at the time.
Christian reaction split quickly. Some viewers unfollowed Druski and accused him of mocking the faith. Christian rapper Lecrae defended the sketch’s target. “There’s wolves in the pulpits, there’s theatrics for attention and money and influence,” he told his followers. He added that the comedian was reflecting what people had already witnessed.
Pastor Michael Todd of Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, addressed the sketch from his pulpit Jan. 18. Social media users, aided by AI-generated images, had linked the character to him. Todd called the video hilarious and told his congregation the online uproar was pulling believers off course. “It was an attack on your focus,” he said.
Druski has said the satire carried a message. Speaking with BET before he hosted the 2026 BET Awards in June, he said people revisiting the sketch realized “this stuff has been in front of us the whole time.” He opened that broadcast by lowering onto the stage in a harness as the same preacher, this time jokingly asking Tyler Perry and Stevie Wonder for donations.
Druski speaks onstage while hosting the BET Awards 2026 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 28, 2026, where he opened the show as his megachurch pastor character. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
The Netflix deal also brings the comedian full circle. In a Sept. 24 appearance on “The Diary of a CEO” with Steven Bartlett, Druski said Netflix, Amazon and FX turned down his pitches for “years and years.” He responded by putting millions of his own dollars into 4LIFERS and building audiences for franchises such as “Coulda Been Records” on YouTube. “Collect & Praise” followed the same path. Druski independently financed the series before Netflix acquired it, according to Deadline.
For many churchgoers, the questions under the punchlines are familiar ones about luxury, offerings and oversight. Those conversations were happening in church parking lots and comment sections long before Druski put on the Dior blazer.
Franklin’s critique came with a defense of the church itself.
During the same Baller Alert appearance, he apologized to a host who said church judgment had driven him away and urged him to hold on to God. He also named pastors he believes are serving well, including Philip Anthony Mitchell and Charlie Dates.
The timing puts the character in front of its largest audience yet. Druski hosts “Saturday Night Live” on Nov. 7, the first digital creator to host the NBC sketch show. Less than a month later, his fictional megachurch opens its doors on Netflix.
