Streaming giant Netflix’s latest announcement is a partnership with husband-wife producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, who were responsible for the History miniseries The Bible, the Lifetime TV movie Women of the Bible, and the NBC event A.D. The Bible Continues, among others.
The new series, Messiah, is created by screenwriter Michael Petroni (The Chronicles of Narnia: the Voyage of the Dawn Treader). Set in the present day, the series will detail the world’s reaction to a man who claims to be the Messiah.
Over ten episodes, the story will be told from multiple points of view, including those of an Israeli Shin Bet officer, a Latino preacher and his daughter, a CIA agent, and a Palestinian refugee.
“Messiah is a series that will have the audience asking big questions,” producers Downey and Burnett said in a statement. “What if someone showed up in 2018 amid strange occurrences and was thought to be the Messiah? What would society do? How would the media cover him? Would millions simply quit work? Could governments collapse? It’s a series that could change everything.”
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Here’s the official press release:
A Mysterious Figure Roams our Modern World, Raising Questions of Faith and Belief in MESSIAH, coming to Netflix
Hollywood, CA – November 16, 2017 — Netflix, the world’s leading Internet entertainment service, will bring Messiah, an epic suspenseful drama exploring the lines among religion, faith and politics, to its members around the globe in 2019.
Messiah will chronicle the modern world’s reaction to a man who first appears in the Middle East creating a groundswell of followers around him claiming he is the Messiah. Is he sent from God or is he a dangerous fraud bent on dismantling the world’s geopolitical order? In ten hour-long episodes, the story unfolds from multiple points of view, including a young CIA agent, an Israeli Shin Bet officer, a Latino preacher and his Texan daughter, a Palestinian refugee and the media, among others.
The series was created by Michael Petroni (The Chronicles of Narnia: the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Book Thief) and brought to Netflix by Petroni and Emmy® award winning producer Mark Burnett, MGM’s President, Television Group & Digital (The Voice, Shark Tank, Survivor and The Bible Series).
Messiah, a Netflix production, will be executive produced by Petroni, who also wrote the first episode. Also executive producing are Burnett and Roma Downey (The Bible Series, Son of God, Ben Hur), Andrew Deane (Industry Entertainment) and James McTeigue (Sense8, V for Vendetta), who will also serve as a director.
“Messiah promises to be a fascinating series for viewers of every faith, and a thrilling drama filled with multi-layered characters set on a global stage,” said Cindy Holland, Vice President, Original Content for Netflix.
Said Petroni, “Messiah will have every viewer asking the question ‘is he or isn’t he?’ How you answer that question may reveal more about you than it does about the show. Messiah challenges us to examine what we believe and why.”
“Messiah is a series that will have the audience asking big questions. What if someone showed up in 2018 amid strange occurrences and was thought to be the Messiah? What would society do? How would the media cover him? Would millions simply quit work? Could governments collapse?” said Downey and Burnett. “It’s a series that could change everything.”
About Netflix
Netflix is the world’s leading internet entertainment service with 109 million members in over 190 countries enjoying more than 125 million hours of TV shows and movies per day, including original series, documentaries and feature films. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.
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