Kingsbury, Downey team up to bring Baxter family to television Print
Written by Taylor Berglund   
Monday, 08 February 2016 12:05 PM America/New_York

Karen-Kingsbury-mugRoma Downey and LightWorkers Media, the faith and family division of MGM, have acquired rights to adapt best-selling author Karen Kingsbury’s Baxter family novels as a TV series. The acquisition was announced Thursday by Rick Christian, president of Alive Literary Agency.

The deal builds on record audience response for Kingsbury’s three Hallmark Channel movies. They first aired last December, with two more airing in March and May.

The Baxters were part of 23 novels, starting with Redemption, which tells the story of John and Elizabeth Baxter and their six adult children as they encounter love and loss in an epic drama. The novels were published by Tyndale House Publishers and Zondervan.

Christian commented on the series’ fan base.

“Karen’s 25 million readers have been clamoring for this for years, and their support atop Roma’s amazing track record and industry expertise will help The Baxters become to this generation what the TV series The Waltons or Little House on the Prairie were to earlier generations,” Christian said.

Kingsbury is thrilled about the new series.

“Working with Roma Downey to see the Baxter family become a TV series is the most exciting thing to happen in my career,” Kingsbury said. “In her capable and talented hands, we all believe the Baxter family will become a long-standing, beloved series that runs for many years to come.”

Downey explained why she chose Kingsbury's Baxter family for adaptation.

“At LightWorkers, we are always looking for uplifting projects, and because I am such a fan of the series, it makes so much sense to bring our two brands together,” Downey said.