"The Bible" miniseries getting a sequel
Mark Burnett is bringing the sequel to his hugely successful miniseries "The Bible" to NBC.
The follow-up, tentatively titled "A.D.: After the Bible," begins in the days after Jesus' betrayal and death, when "social injustice, Roman military oppression and religious unrest" fueled a "perfect storm" in the Holy Land, the network said in an announcement Monday.
"NBC is thrilled to bring this highly-anticipated sequel to Mark and Roma's 'The Bible' to network television," Jennifer Salke, president of NBC Entertainment, said in a statement. "There was huge interest in this project within the television community and NBC is gratified by Mark's confidence in our ability to partner with him and position this miniseries as true event television."
Bob Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, added, "I followed the development process of 'The Bible' closely with Mark and knew that the story was far from over after Christ's Crucifixion. In fact, what happened in the aftermath -- which is essentially the beginning of Christianity -- is utterly fascinating. The day after 'The Bible' premiered, I told Mark we were on board with no hesitation for the follow-up miniseries. This will be attention-getting in every way, and we're proud to continue our association with Mark which has just grown exponentially from 'The Voice.'"
Burnett and wife Roma Downey's "The Bible" aired on the History Channel earlier this year, debuting to 13.1 million viewers in March and wrapping up on Easter Sunday with 11.7 million. Since its release on DVD and Blu-ray in April, it has become the top-selling miniseries of all time, selling more than 1 million units in the past three months.