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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Husband, wife team for faith-based TV shows

The Columbian
Published:

LOS ANGELES — Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are taking their faith-based empire on a pilgrimage to TLC.

The husband-and-wife producing team will set up a new unscripted religious project on the cable network. The not-yet-titled series will focus on people who say they have experienced divine intervention.

Downey, in addition to executive producing the project with Burnett, will host the six-part series that is somewhat reminiscent of the long-running CBS drama “Touched by an Angel,” in which she starred. The 54-year-old TV personality said the new series fits in with the couple’s desire to make “projects that show people’s lives in positive and uplifting ways.”

“This is a wonderful opportunity to work with TLC, and host a series that will inspire and encourage viewers to remember that even in the worst circumstances, prayer can lead to divine intervention,” Downey said.

The project is planned for a late 2015 rollout. It adds to the couple’s roster of faith-based content, which has become profitable for the duo.

Burnett, who is behind such hits as “Survivor” and “The Voice,” created “The Bible” miniseries with Downey for the History Channel in 2013. The 10-part miniseries gave the cable network major bragging rights; it premiered to a hefty 13.1 million viewers and wrapped its run on Easter Sunday of that year to nearly 12 million viewers, according to Nielsen. At times, it beat out heavy-hitters “The Walking Dead” and “Game of Thrones.”

The success wasn’t unnoticed or stymied. The couple used footage from the “The Bible” and turned it into the big-screen film “Son of God” in February. The film grossed about $60 million domestically.

In the spring, the couple are bringing a sequel to “The Bible” to NBC. It is titled “A.D.: Beyond the Bible,” which looks at the period after Jesus’ death. The peacock network became the project’s home after offering a bigger paycheck than History Channel was willing to offer. They are also developing a drama at NBC about a group of guardian angels whose job is to intervene for those in crisis.

Also coming next year from the duo is a CBS miniseries, “Dovekeepers,” based on the historical novel of the same name that follows four women who separately journey to Masada and are faced with trying to survive the Roman siege against the Jews in AD 70.

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