NBC orders episodes for a follow-up of Mark Burnett and Roma Downey.
The follow-up to History’s The Bible gets a 12-episode miniseries order from NBC. According to The Hollywood Reporter, A.D.: Beyond the Bible is set in the days after Jesus’ betrayal and death.
Robert Greenblatt, the chairman of NBC Entertainment said in a release that, “Last year when Mark Burnett was launching The Bible on cable, I told him, without hesitation, that if he wanted to tell more of the story, we’d love to do it at NBC.” Greenblatt also added that, “We are firmly in the ‘event’ business and nothing has more event potential than A.D. as it continues immediately after the The Bible ended. The heft of a broadcast network, combined with the promotional arms of NBC Universal and Comcast, will push this miniseries to a mass audience. We value our relationship with Mark and Roma and know that no one could bring this story to life better than them.”
Jennifer Salke, the president of NBC Entertainment mentioned, “You might think the story is over at the Crucifixion, but as most of the world knows, that was only the beginning.” As reported by THR, Salke also said, “Everyone’s lives were completely altered in an instant and the immediate aftermath of Christ’s death had an impact on his disciples, his mother Mary, and key political and religious leaders of the time. In the first episode alone you see the last moments of the Crucifixion, Judas taking his own life after betraying Christ, Peter denying Jesus three times, and then the miracle of the Resurrection. We feel so fortunate to be in the hands of Mark and Roma, who have proven that the greatest story ever told is still just that.”
The Bible has become the top-selling miniseries of all times since its release on DVD and Blu-ray. Burnett and Downey are also working on the Son of God movie, which is set to be released in February via Fox.
A.D.: Beyond the Bible will air in the spring of 2015.