Here’s today’s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.
The Dovekeepers airs tonight (3/31) and tomorrow night (4/1) @ 9:00 PM on CBS.
Mark Burnett and Roma Downey go broadcast. Sure, Burnett has Shark Tank (ABC), Survivor (CBS) and Celebrity Apprentice (NBC) but with the huge success of The Bible on History Channel and Son of God in theaters, now even the ever-edgy broadcast networks are coming around to the viewer demand for the faith-driven dramas he produces with his wife. I didn’t preview this one but here’s how Downey described the production to me in an earlier interview: It’s a beautiful story of the triumph of the human spirit. The Dovekeepers is based on a bestselling novel written by Alice Hoffman. It tells the story of Masada but it’s unique because it tells the story through the hearts and the eyes of four extraordinary and courageous women.
Killing Jesus scores record ratings for NGC. The premiere of the film, based on the book by Fox News host Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, — set a National Geographic Channel viewership record with 3.7 million tuning in. The film is the third collaboration between NGC, Scott Free Productions (Exodus: Gods and Kings) and O’Reilly whose first two projects together, Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln, were, respectively, the two previously most watched programs in the network’s history. Killing Jesus will encore on Fox News Channel at 8:00 PM (ET) on Good Friday and at the same time on Easter Sunday. You can read my review of the film here.
Another chance to see Four Blood Moons. Due to strong audience response to its previous one-night-only theater presentation, the documentary about the historical and possible theological significance of the rare celestial event (which occurs this year), will be shown again on April 9th. Click here to view theater listings. You can read more about the film, including my interview with producer Rick Eldridge here.
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