Posted on 04/06/2015 8:28:03 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The highly anticipated series A.D.: The Bible Continues drew an impressive 9.5 million viewers on its Easter Sunday premiere, proving that there is indeed a massive audience hungry for faith-based programming.
According to Variety, A.D.'s first episode, which focused primarily on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, was night's top-rated program, making it the highest-rating premiere since 2011.
"#ADtheseries was the #1 show in America last night! #ADtheseries great news!" producer Roma Downey tweeted on Monday morning.
In 2013, Downey her husband, Mark Burnett, shocked Hollywood with the success of their 10 hour miniseries, The Bible, which featured the life of Christ leading up to His resurrection. The series, which aired on the History Channel, grossed $60 million domestically and averaged over 11 million viewers per episode--by far the biggest in the cable network's history.
"People are hungry for stories of faith. People are hungry for hope," Downey said of show's massive success. "They're hungry for connection to each other, a connection to God. The Bible is such a wealth of stories. It has all the ingredients. It's exciting, and it's alive."
In turn, A.D., which airs on NBC, begins where The Bible left off and then explores the early years of the new Christian church as documented in the Gospels and by historians from the period. Last night's premiere largely covered the political and personal reaction to Jesus being crucified in addition to displaying the disciples' fear of being killed in the same manner as Christ.
"With A.D. The Bible Continues, we have been able to use the death of Jesus as the starting point because really it's the journey of what happens next," Downey told The Hollywood Reporter. "It was a moment that changed the world - it changed world history. ... It had resounding impact."
Thanks to a strong cast, compelling writing and impressive cinematography, A.D.: The Bible Continues is indisputably entertaining. But even more importantly, the series doesn't diverge from the Biblical account of Jesus' life, death, and legacy--a strong indicator the show will resonate with faith-based audiences.
"We believe A.D. is going to be a mega-hit," Faith Driven Consumer founder Chris Stone said in a recent press release. "It has the potential to be the most successful faith-based TV franchise in history."
"Tell the story in a way that is consistent with the biblical narrative and message and give it the highest production value possible," Stone said. "A.D. will prove this point, and NBC will reap the rewards for respecting the audience and getting it right."
While the story is Biblically-centered, both Burnett and Downey believe the show will continue to appeal to audiences outside Christianity.
"It's a story of faith and of courage and I don't think that you have to be of Christian faith to enjoy this story. It's a broad story and we're excited that it's on broadcast," Downey told THR. "We're so grateful to NBC and our partnership with them that on Easter Sunday, the day of the resurrection, people will be able to gather around their television sets and experience the story together."
People are tired of hearhen hollywood. They are hungry for wholesome family programming without gays or gay topics for a change
People are tired of heathen hollywood. They are hungry for wholesome family programming without gays or gay topics for a change
Yep. I watched the first couple episodes of Dig. It was strange, but had biblical undertones. And then we were greeted with the hard-ass jewish policeman in bed with his boyfriend. Turned it off - and not coming back on.
It is MUCH better than the O’Reilly bomb, “Killing Jesus”.
I had minor issues, but applaud the overall A.D. product.
There were also the characters in the gay bar. I stopped watching, too. It had absolutely nothing to do with the story.
Saw it last night, thought it was cool when the angel from heaven came down and stood on top of Jesus’s tomb with the bright light of the resurrection inside the tomb with the Roman troops freaking out.
Then the angel draws his golden sword... Roman troops freaking out and didn’t know what to think of it.
“There were also the characters in the gay bar.”
WTF?
The commercials for it looked interesting, but it seems to be part of the Prog's propaganda machine that's anti-Christian and pro-homosexual:
Terrible acting, horrible casting, phony soap opera dialogue. Just plain bad.
It's the politically correct version of the events after Jesus' death. What's wrong with this thing? Here's just a start:
1. The actor playing Jesus is a pretty boy. Isaiah 53:2 says,
"he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him."
2. A black John. The actor playing John looks more like Idi Amin than a Jewish youth. Sickeningly PC.
3. Simon Peter "the Rock" comes off as a drama queen homosexual instead of the powerful, gruff fisherman he was.
4. A general lack of gravitas among all the actors. Important characters like Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas the High Priest are very lightweight. The actress playing Mary goes for "mentally unbalanced" instead of "dignified". Perhaps the producers had to spend most of the budget on CG sky views of Jerusalem and didn't have much left to hire good actors.
I was looking forward to this and am very, very disappointed, and do not plan to watch subsequent episodes.
ROFL ROFL
Well let’s see if it survives. It only received a 2.3 in the only rating that matters 18-49 year olds. That is not good especially for a premier. Next week they will have competition too because last night they had on repeats of 10 Commandments. We will see.
Truly, a great fool are you.
I will skip watching this program. In case I don’t like it I don’t want to be considered a fool.
Roma Downey? No, thanks.
RE: It is MUCH better than the O’Reilly bomb, “Killing Jesus”.
Unfortunately, “Killing Jesus” didn’t bomb. It broke National Geographic Channel’s ratings record for viewers.
RE: And then we were greeted with the hard-ass jewish policeman in bed with his boyfriend.
I seemed to have missed that...
KJ is:
Poorly acted
Has terrible dialogue
Uses the excuse of being “Historical” rather than “Biblical” to misrepresent who said what and when.
A black John? Really?
Why, why, why does political correctness always have to win out over historical accuracy? I see it again and again. I guess we’ve turned into a nation of thin-skinned idiots who will riot, boycott and complain if each and every show isn’t “diverse,” even if it makes no sense. How can they justify this?
I love the arrogantly self righteous.
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