It was important, Stefanick said, to encounter Catholics and their culture in their own homes and lives, rather than talk about them from a studio. The experience has given him a new appreciation for Catholicism in his country, he said.
"A lot of the country doesn't know just how Catholic south Louisiana is, or how amazing New Mexico is, and that it has a unique Catholic culture that is not Mexican but New Mexican."
Stylistically, Wojtasek said it was important for him as a filmmaker that the show be as accessible as possible.
Since travel documentaries and other kinds of reality TV shows are so popular, he said he wanted the show to have a similar look and feel in order to pique people's interest, even if they might not be Catholic.
"We wanted it to be something that someone could find and relate to, even if they came in late," he said. "So we put those stories (of faith) within the framework of something that is very much in style and form like any other documentary or travel show or cooking show that people might want to watch and stick around for."
"But we also don't shy away from the deepest reality, in that we're all made human, and we all have a spiritual component and a desire for God."
Besides Stefanick having fun by getting out of his element, woven into every story and conversation with the people in each episode is how their Catholic faith has impacted their lives.
Through these real stories, the show tackles topics like how disabled people impact those around them, what it means to really serve the homeless, and what death with dignity means in a culture that increasingly promotes assisted suicide.
The death with dignity episode in particular "was sacred material for me," Stefanick said, because he knew the family personally, whose wife and mother passed away within the course of two different filmings of the episode.
"To go into someone's life and family and see how they're coping with the death of a mom of young children, and the single dad raising the kids himself...to go into that and to see just how amazing grace is, the love, the faith, the hope that's still there, that's because the message of the Gospel is as real as ever," he said.
God's presence was felt not only on camera, but off camera as well. Wojtasek said that while he and Falls both are filmmakers by trade, they are also Catholics by faith, and God made his work and timing evident throughout the filming process.
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"There's a component of this where we recognize that there's only so much planning we can do" before God's timing and plans take over, he said.
For example, the last episode, which airs Aug. 8, shows Stefanick surfing in the icy-cold waters of Lake Michigan off the shores of Sheboygan, Wisc. in February, when the surrounding temperature was just 35 degrees.
On the afternoon of the shoot "it started dropping snow like crazy," said Falls, which worried him and Wojtasek, whose film equipment isn't waterproof.
"It was terrifying, the snow was terrifying especially for Chris, but he just had this grace that made him tackle this surfing in Lake Michigan with heavy snow falling. We couldn't even really see through our cameras because of it, but he did it easily, the adrenaline just kind of kicked in and forced him to do it, to sacrifice for the shot," he said.
"We were freezing, we couldn't see, so we just had to trust we were getting the right shot," he said. After they checked the tape, they realized the shots turned out beautifully.
"It was amazing to have the climax of our show," he said.