The third and final season of EWTN’s award-winning romantic-comedy web series James the Less will be released for Valentine’s Day. 

When audiences last saw James Little (Tanner Kalina), he had admitted to Anne-Marie (Carol Jeong) at the parish picnic that the idea of Catholicism was starting to grow on him. “My world has been turned upside down and I’m starting to like it,” he said. “Ever since working at James the Less, I’m finding that a lot of my ideas are messed up.”

Season 2 ended on a cliffhanger, when James and Anne-Marie’s long-awaited date was abruptly interrupted by the arrival of Karl, Anne-Marie’s former boyfriend.

The journey of James — an atheist recent college graduate struggling to find a job after having been “canceled” over an online post — has come a long way from being desperate for work amid countless rejection letters and stumbling upon a “help wanted” sign at St. James the Less Church, where he reluctantly accepted the job of parish handyman. 

Over the course of the first two seasons, James’ skepticism toward Catholicism softened as he developed an unlikely friendship with the parish’s no-nonsense pastor, Father Lambert Burns (F.J. Zentner) and pursued a romantic relationship with parishioner Anne-Marie.

Similar to its predecessors, this final installment will consist of six episodes released daily following the premiere. The series, which debuted in February 2023, was filmed on location at two Birmingham, Alabama, Catholic churches and produced as an original EWTN narrative project.

EWTN Director of Studio Operations Stephen Beaumont told the Register that this season not only brings each character’s story to a close but also delivers many anticipated narrative payoffs established earlier in the series.

“I’m not suggesting that people binge-watch it because I don’t think binge-watching is necessarily a good thing,” he said. “But people will enjoy the series most if they really know the whole story and don’t just pick and choose, watching an episode here and there.”

Delving Into the Catholic Faith

Without revealing any spoilers, Season 3 picks up in the immediate aftermath of the interrupted date, exploring the emotional fallout and the ways Anne-Marie is forced to confront unresolved wounds from her past.

Meanwhile, James continues to explore the strange new world of the Catholic faith with guidance from a variety of mentors, including Jonah and Abraham. His journey includes small but significant steps, such as practicing the Sign of the Cross upon entering the church, listening to Scripture and attempting to read — albeit with some expected confusion — St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica. 

His understanding deepens further as he accompanies Father Burns’ pastoral visits to the sick, while the priest himself continues to shepherd his flock amid struggles with early-stage Parkinson’s disease.

Beaumont emphasized that the relationships — particularly friendship — remain central to the final season’s progression. “There are all kinds of different interactions that build these characters, from the friendship between James and Father Burns, between Anne-Marie and James, and even with Anne-Marie and her friend Thérèse,” he said. “We really explore these different friendships more in Season 3.”

Filmed back-to-back with Season 2, Beaumont recognized the final season as a “group effort” involving producer Mike Masny, editor David Biddle and many other collaborators. Reflecting on one of the show’s unexpected moments, he recalled a storm during Season 2 that forced the creative team to relocate parts of the parish picnic scene indoors at St. Thomas More Church. 

“James asks some questions, and he learns about Anne-Marie’s devotion to Mary,” he said. “That scene was not in the [original] script, but it actually turned out to be one of my favorite scenes in the whole series.”

A Series for Viewers of All Faith Backgrounds

According to Beaumont, James the Less is intended to entertain and resonate with audiences from a wide range of backgrounds. One viewer on YouTube commented, “This is good. And I don’t mean just good for EWTN. I mean, it’s really good.”

Describing the series as a “fish-out-of-water” story, Beaumont added that he hopes Catholics will gain better insight into how the faith can appear to outsiders, while non-Catholics develop a clearer “understanding of what the Church is” — and what it offers.

That perspective was echoed by Kalina in a recent interview, in which the actor said portraying James has taught him how the “faith is vibrant.” 

“It’s just a good reminder that inside all of our hearts we’re aching and longing for the Lord and we’re longing for a guide to just invite us and to bring us to the Lord,” he told EWTN News’ Francesca Fenton. “So playing James has kind of reawakened that reality to me … and that when we just speak truth and when we just put someone in front of Jesus, then it awakens something very deep within someone.”

A Catholic author, speaker and missionary, Kalina has worked with ministries such as FOCUS and NET, among others. He expressed hope that viewers will be left “smiling” after the conclusion, recognizing that “‘Oh yeah, our faith is a great treasure’ and it’s not just like another option amongst options,” but rather a “mound of gold that needs to be shared with the world.”

Inspired by the series’ positive reception, Beaumont said the network hopes to continue creating similar narrative content. “It’s kind of part of what EWTN+ is trying to achieve, which is to reach broader audiences,” he added.

As the story reaches its conclusion, viewers are left with the central questions that have driven the series from the beginning: What will happen between James and Anne-Marie? Will James ultimately take the step of converting to Catholicism? 

The answers unfold in the final season of James the Less, streaming exclusively on EWTN’s YouTube channel, starting Feb. 14.