'A.D. The Bible Continues' Receives Rave Reviews Ahead of Easter Premiere
The upcoming miniseries "A.D. The Bible Continues" has received rave reviews ahead of its premiere this Easter Sunday on the NBC network.
The miniseries, which is a sequel to The History Channel's "The Bible," follows life in ancient Jerusalem after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, focusing on the lives of Jesus' disciples following his resurrection.
Paul Schemm of the Associated Press described the new miniseries as a balance of biblical epic and drama, describing it as "'House of Cards' in sandals."
Multiple media outlets suggest that producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey have tapped a popular market by providing series for Christian television viewers. Along with "A.D. The Bible Continues," more religious-themed programs are set to hit television.
The film adaptation of Bill O'Reilly's "Killing Kennedy" broke network viewership records when it premiered on the National Geographic Channel over the weekend. CNN also recently aired the documentary series "Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact and Forgery," and late last year Lifetime showed the series "The Red Tent," focusing on women of the Bible's Old Testament.
"I felt some people five years ago wondering, 'Is anyone really going to want to watch Biblical stuff on prime-time TV?' And clearly we were right that we thought they would," Burnett previously said. "We have never heard more from people anticipating anything than this."
NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke previously said that her network is looking into giving Christian viewers what they want to see following the success of "The Bible" miniseries.
"It's not conscious reluctance in any way, but I think there was a misconception of looking at those things as being niche and not realizing they actually represent an enormous part of our country that is not finding programming that speaks specifically to them," she said. "We're looking to change that."
