God Is the Biggest Star in Hollywood Right Now

On April 16  on the cover of “T.V. Guide” on newsstands and online Jesus Christ is on the front cover and this is after the Easter Season. As Natalie Morales of NBC’s Dateline recently said, “God is the biggest star in Hollywood right now.”

On April 15, in her daily inside insights with Facebook supporters, Roma Downey, who is producer with her husband Mark Burnett of A.D. The Bible Continues, has shared the following about how these articles appeared on and in T.V. Guide on April 16, ” ‘A.D. How Jesus is saving Primetime’ plus ‘Why Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are putting their faith in religious TV, ‘ ‘A biblical who’s who…’ … Juan Pablo Di Pace in his role as Jesus appears on the cover of the newest edition (a double issue) of TV Guide Magazine. Related articles within this issue (of ‘TV Guide‘) will be transcribed and posted here (to her supporters) in the next week.”

Juan Pablo Di Pace as Jesus on the cover of TV Guide; Photo Courtesy of TV Guide.

As Biblical, faith-based, redemptive stories continue in mainstream movies and television programs, it has not been surprising that Jesus Christ is on the cover of T.V. Guide for the next few weeks and that He has been portrayed on the cover by actor Juan Pablo Di Pace from NBC’s A.D. The Bible Continues by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. This has clearly been because of the many Biblical programs on a range of networks in the last few weeks A.D. The Bible Continues has had the highest ratings. The 12 part series that debuted on Easter Sunday had 9.5 million viewers and led Twitter as the No. 1 trend. The second episode also had competitive ratings that may continue to improve because many Bible teachers, pastors, and church groups are following the series to use it as a Bible study tool.

Another key reason this series has garnered the enthusiastic support of people of faith in the Bible is because Mark Burnett and Roma Downey have respectfully sought the guidance of reputable Bible scholars and have developed a reputation themselves of valuing historical and Biblical accuracy.

NBC describes the series in the following way, “A.D. picks up where the smash hit, The Bible, left off, continuing the greatest story ever told and exploring the exciting and inspiring events that followed the Crucifixion of Christ. As most of the world knows, the Crucifixion was only the beginning of the story. The immediate aftermath of Christ’s death had a massive impact on his disciples, his mother Mary, and key political and religious leaders of the era from the sorrow of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice to the awe-inspiring wonder of the Resurrection and beyond. From Executive Producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett comes an uplifting spiritual journey through the later chapters of biblical history.” The trailer for A.D. can be seen online.

Written by Diane Howard, Ph.,D.