History Channel to show drama that reflects on the ‘grand narrative’ of the Scriptures

Editor’s Note:  A 10-hour dramatic miniseries simply called The Bible received a rousing reception at the International Christian Retail Show last summer during a sneak peak of the project launched by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey.

Best known for producing the TV shows Survivor, The Voice and The Apprentice, Burnett and his wife, Downey, of Touched by an Angel fame, gave attendees a first look at the series, slated to air on the History Channel this Easter season. 

Downey and Burnett share the inspiration behind the series here:

Two things are irrefutably true when it comes to the Bible’s place in popular culture. First, it’s hard to find anyone in the world whose lives the Scriptures haven’t touched. Second, people aren’t as well-versed in the Bible today as they were a generation ago. About 70% of Americans believe the Bible contains everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life, yet only 26% say they read it more than once a week.

That’s why we are so honored and humbled to be producing The Bible, a 10-hour, five-part miniseries premiering March 3 on the History Channel. This has been a labor of love, not a job, for us. We sincerely believe that it was for such a time as this that we met—to combine our gifts and energies into a project of this importance and a story this inspirational.

What we have tried to do is tell the grand narrative of the Bible in a way people haven’t seen before on television. It is a powerful, inspirational, sacred text that we have tried to breathe fresh, visual life into. We want millions to see it and enjoy these powerful stories of faith, love, joy and sacrifice, and God’s never-ending goodness.

We do not claim to be Bible teachers—that is a role reserved for pastors. We simply hope to be Bible illuminators, capturing the essence and inspiration of the sacred text we love. We have partnered with the History Channel, Fox Home Entertainment, Hachette Book Group and other key allies to help us achieve this goal. 

Fox will release the entire series on DVD, including behind-the-scenes features and other extras, immediately after the final episode airs on the History Channel on Easter Sunday, March 31. While the series will only be broadcast on television in the U.S. at first, the DVDs will be available to a global audience right away.

Hachette will publish three books Feb. 26 in support of the project. One is a novelization of the miniseries, the second an abridged version of the novel for young readers. The third book is a devotional with thoughts from us from our own faith journeys and experiences making the miniseries, which we hope will be thought-provoking and uplifting for readers.

As you read this, we are still putting the finishing touches on The Bible and the complementary projects such as the DVD set and books. We’ve also spent hundreds of hours and will spend scores more over the next several weeks talking with faith leaders and journalists about The Bible in order to share the vision for the series. Our hope is that those who watch it would come to know God better and draw closer to Him. 

As we press onto the premiere, we’d be remiss if we didn’t thank all the people who have prayed for The Bible and for us personally. Some of you we have been privileged enough to meet along the way; others have just felt led to ask God to bless this project and multiply its impact on those who see it. We want you to know that we have only gotten this far, and will draw strength and inspiration the rest of the way because of your faithfulness belief in the story of God and all of us.