Have you watched "James the Less"? It's such a great series! 🙌
In 2023, EWTN launched its romantic-comedy web series, “James the Less,” which garnered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube, becoming a major success.
The second season of this lighthearted Catholic romantic comedy premieres on June 9, 2025, and star Tanner Kalina spoke with ChurchPOP editor Jacqueline Burkepile about the viral Catholic web series.
Watch the interview below:
In “James the Less,” Kalina plays James Little, a fresh-out-of-college atheist man struggling to find a job after being “cancelled” for an online post.
After receiving many rejection letters, he finds a handyman job at Saint James the Less parish. This unexpected path leads him to a friendship with a Catholic priest, a possible romance, and a slow, sincere encounter with the Catholic faith.
“He posted something on social media that kind of got him cancelled by culture,” Kalina explains. “Until he stumbles upon a job opening at a parish, Saint James the Less… The priest welcomes him in, doesn’t care about his past, and he develops a friendship with that priest and a slight opening to what the priest has to say about the faith.”
Kalina adds that when the romantic comedy was released, “the response was pretty overwhelming” and “people just really loved it.”
“People were laughing, and the views just kind of kept climbing on YouTube, and we were all like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on?’”
The actor also explains what makes this series unique and why he believes it draws young audiences.
“It’s just good old Catholic fun,” Kalina said. “I think people who come from a Catholic background will be able to watch it and notice the fun ways we poke fun at ourselves…just in celebrating the faith.”
Kalina says filming "James the Less" went beyond the screen.
During the first season, Kalina worked with college students as a FOCUS Missionary. He says he tried “embodying an amalgamation of some of the students,” and “how they look at the faith and just go about the world.”
He says he tried doing the same while filming season two.
“I really hope audiences get to go on that ride with him and see how attractive the faith is in season two,” he said.
Behind the scenes, Kalina says he developed meaningful, faith-based friendships with his co-stars.
“We developed a really good friendship in shooting season two,” he says. “We have a group text going, and on feast days, we’ll say 'happy feast day' and that we’re praying for one another.”
Kalina also remembers when he felt the Holy Spirit move on set.
“I just felt like the Lord drew me to this guy who was going to be an extra…We struck up a really good friendship and started to get to talking about the faith. And I think now he’s working at EWTN, just absolutely killing it.”
For Kalina, the show evangelizes the Catholic faith through an appealing story. He assures audiences that season two will be even better.
“It'll tickle your tickle bones,” he says. “It’ll make you laugh. It’ll make you love the Lord. It’ll put a smile on your face.”