Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.<\/p>\n
Epic casting.<\/strong> NBC has announced the cast of A.D.,\u00a0<\/i>the highly anticipated\u00a0follow-up to the 2013 ratings blockbuster miniseries\u00a0The Bible\u00a0 t<\/i>hat aired on The History Channel and <\/i>which garnered over 100 million\u00a0US\u00a0viewers. From executive producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, the first episode of\u00a0A.D.<\/i>\u00a0will premiere Easter\u00a0Sunday, April 5th, 2015. If the ratings are good, A.D. has the potential to continue its story of the early Church for many seasons to come. Expressing high hopes that the show will appeal to modern audiences, Downey says \u201cChristianity is among the most diverse movements in history, so when Mark and I looked to bring this epic story of A.D.<\/em> to life on NBC, it was\u00a0important to us to find a cast as\u00a0diverse\u00a0and beautiful as the church is around the world…We look forward to sharing these amazing performances with our audience, and in them we hope that people see themselves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Juan Pablo di Pace, a critically acclaimed Argentinean actor, has been cast as Jesus.\u00a0 Di Pace is best known for his portrayal of Petros in the hit film\u00a0Mamma Mia<\/i>, along with award-winning theater work in London and Spain. He also had a recurring in the NBC series Camp<\/i>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n Di Pace leads an international cast hailing from more than 10 different nations, including Gambia (Babou Ceesay as John), Zimbabwe (Chipo Chung as Mary Magdalene Denver Isaac as James), Jamaica (Nicholas Pinnock as Arik), Scotland (Fraser Ayers as Simon The Zealot), Britain (Peter De Jersey as Ananias), Italy (Greta Scacchi as Jesus’ mother Mary and Cesare Taurasi as Judas), Iceland (Johannes Johannesson as\u00a0 Thomas) and Greece (George Georgiou as Boaz). <\/span><\/p>\n Others in the cast include\u00a0Richard\u00a0Coyle (Crossbones<\/i>, Covert\u00a0Affairs<\/i>,\u00a0W.E.<\/i>,\u00a0 Prince\u00a0of\u00a0Persia: The\u00a0Sands\u00a0of\u00a0Time<\/i>),\u00a0 Vincent\u00a0Regan (The\u00a0Musketeers<\/i>,\u00a0Clash\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Titans<\/i>,\u00a0300<\/i>,\u00a0Troy<\/i>,\u00a0Rescue\u00a0Me<\/i>), Adam Levy\u00a0(Borgia<\/i>), Emmet\u00a0Scalan (Constantine<\/i>)l, Jodhi\u00a0May\u00a0(The Crimson Field<\/i>,\u00a0Defiance<\/i>,\u00a0The Last of the Mohicans<\/i>,\u00a0Ginger & Rosa<\/i>), Joanne\u00a0Whalley\u00a0(The\u00a0Borgias<\/i>,\u00a0Gossip\u00a0Girl<\/i>,\u00a0Willow)<\/i>, Helen Daniels,\u00a0 Pedro\u00a0Lloyd\u00a0Gardiner (The\u00a0Red\u00a0Tent<\/i>), Chris Brazier (Airborne<\/i>,\u00a0Coronation Street<\/i>), Brendan Patricks (Downton Abbey<\/i>,\u00a0Skins<\/i>,\u00a0Doctor Who<\/i>), Will Thorp (Coronation Street<\/i>,\u00a0Doctor Who<\/i>,\u00a0Law & Order<\/i> UK), Morgan Watkins (Suffragette<\/i>), Kevin Doyle (Downton Abbey<\/i>,\u00a0The Crimson Field<\/i>,\u00a0Hawaii Five-O<\/i>,\u00a0The Tudors<\/i>), James Callis (Battle Start Galactica<\/i>,\u00a0Bridget Jones\u2019 Diary<\/i>), Claire\u00a0Cooper (Hollyoaks<\/i>), \u00a0John\u00a0Loannou, Lex\u00a0Shrapnel\u00a0(Haunted<\/i>,\u00a0Captain\u00a0America:\u00a0The\u00a0First\u00a0Avenger<\/i>), Peter\u00a0de\u00a0Jersey\u00a0(Doctor\u00a0Who<\/i>,\u00a0Broadchurch<\/i>), \u00a0Indra\u00a0Ove, Charlene\u00a0McKenna\u00a0(Ripper\u00a0Street<\/i>,\u00a0Skins<\/i>), Reece Ritchie (Hercules,\u00a0The\u00a0Lovely\u00a0Bones<\/i>), Francis\u00a0Magee (Game\u00a0of\u00a0Thrones<\/i>,\u00a0The\u00a0Bible<\/i>), Kenneth\u00a0Collard (Galavant<\/i>,\u00a0Albert\u00a0Nobbs<\/i>,\u00a0Anna\u00a0Karenina<\/i>), Struan Rodgers (Game of Thrones<\/i>), Lonyo Engele (The Bible) <\/i>and Soumaya Akabounne (Lovelace<\/i>,\u00a0Green Zone<\/i>),<\/p>\n Per the press release: A.D.\u00a0 is an uplifting and harrowing journey through the beginning moments of the birth of the church picking up where the smash hit,\u00a0The Bible, left off.\u00a0\u00a0A.D.\u00a0follows the first ten chapters of the Book of Acts\u00a0exploring the aftermath of Christ’s death and its profound impact on his disciples, his mother Mary, and key political and religious leaders of the era, an impact that would completely change the world.\u00a0\u00a0A.D.\u00a0will take its audience from the intense sorrow of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice to the awe-inspiring wonder of the Resurrection and deep into his disciples\u2019 struggle to survive against opposition from every side as they continued to share his message of love with everyone, everywhere.<\/span> The series includes compelling context around the Biblical text, focusing initially on the Book of Acts while integrating dramatic history to help tell the full story of the people and their era.\u00a0 The audience will enter the world of the Apostles, of Pilate, Caiaphas, Herod Antipas and others, all from their own points of view.\u00a0 Each episode aims to bring the Biblical world to life in all of its grit and glory.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n A.D. has already been endorsed by a wide range of faith leaders, including Joel & Victoria Osteen (of\u00a0 Lakewood Church), <\/i><\/span><\/i>Rick Warren (of\u00a0 Saddleback Church), <\/i>Max Lucado (author of Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer<\/em>) Bishop T.D. Jakes<\/span> (<\/span><\/i>CEO of TDJ Enterprises and senior pastor\u00a0of\u00a0The Potter’s House\u00a0of Dallas), <\/span>Wilfredo De Jes\u00fas (Senior Pastor New Life Covenant Church),<\/span><\/i>Cardinal Donald Wuerl (<\/i>of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.),<\/i> <\/span><\/i>Dr. Ronnie Floyd<\/span> (Senior Pastor of\u00a0 Cross Church & President of the Southern Baptist Convention),<\/i><\/span> <\/span><\/i>Dr. Jo Anne Lyon<\/span> (General Superintendent of The Wesleyan Church and Founder of World Hope International), <\/span>Dr George O. Wood (General Superintendent of the Assembly of God), <\/span><\/i>Gabe Lyons (Founder of Q Ideas and Author of The Next Christian<\/em>s),<\/i> <\/span><\/i>Joshua DuBois<\/span> (<\/span><\/i>author of\u00a0<\/span> The President’s Devotional <\/span><\/i>and former director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships,\u00a0 <\/span>Louie Giglio (of Passion City Church), Christine Caine (<\/i>The A21 Campaign), <\/i>Rev. Samuel Rodriquez (President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference) and <\/span>Andy Stanley (North Point Ministries).<\/p>\n Encourage one another and build each other up \u2013 <\/em>1 Thessalonians 5:11<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture. Epic casting. NBC has announced the cast of A.D.,\u00a0the highly anticipated\u00a0follow-up to the 2013 ratings blockbuster miniseries\u00a0The Bible\u00a0 that aired on The History Channel and which garnered over 100 million\u00a0US\u00a0viewers. From executive producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, the first episode of\u00a0A.D.\u00a0will premiere Easter\u00a0Sunday,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,4235,1085,7192,1591,14,15,31],"tags":[7547,7546,6428],"class_list":["post-5587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-easter","category-forgiveness","category-freedom","category-good-works","category-gratitude","category-history","category-television","tag-juan-pablo-di-pace","tag-nbcs-a-d","tag-roma-downey-and-mark-burnett"],"yoast_head":"\n
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