NBC's 'AD The Bible Continues' Turns Easter Into Modern TV Event

04.03.2015

Formerly just a weekend for worship, egg hunting and The Ten Commandments, Easter is fast becoming another home to event programming.Â

Following this week's record breaking premiere of Nat Geo's Killing Jesus and CBS' launch of The Dovekeepers, comes a NBC miniseries event from executive producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey: A.D.: The Bible Continues, premiering this Easter Sunday.

The twelve-episode follow-up to History Channel's The Bible continues on successive Sundays, accompanied by NBC's first foray into digital talk shows with Beyond A.D., a companion series hosted by E! News' Jason Kennedy that launches April 12. The show-which will be available on NBC.com, cable and satellite on demand services and through the NBC app-is set to feature the cast, producers and fans, as well as celebrity and musical guests. "We are very excited to venture into the digital talk show," stated Rob Hayes, executive VP, NBC Entertainment Digital, in a press release. "The series lends itself to in-depth discussions."

The marketing campaign began in earnest around Thanksgiving, with its Web-exclusive first trailer bowing November 27. Billed as "the next chapter of the greatest story ever told," NBC has since revealed sneak peeks, first looks, promos, previews and set tours on its video heavy Website and YouTube channel. NBC's most popular video has been "The Making of A.D. The Bible Continues," a 22-minute behind the scenes look at the show's Moroccan set with Burnett, Downey, the cast and show creators. NBC has also unveiled character profiles for Mary Magdalene, John, Mother Mary and others.

Two weeks ago, NBC launched a "Faith Leader Commentary" series, where Joel Osteen, Pat Robertson, Cardinal Wuerl and others discuss the events of A.D.

This is part of an Outreach campaign to important religious figures and organizations. On its ShareAD website, viewers can order Study Guides and viewing party kits, companion books to A.D., the Book, and find various printable materials to enrich the A.D. experience. The Salvation Army is airing online Bible Studies video chats after each episode, and the American Bible Society has created an Episodic Discussion Guide to embolden discussion.

As it counts down to the premiere, NBC has been active across the entire social media spectrum, utilizing the #ADtheSeries hashtag on its Twitter (@ADtheseries), Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and its Facebook accounts to #SpreadTheWord.

With the successes of The Bible and Killing Jesus, it's clear that Christian event programming surrounding Easter is a trend, one that NBC hopes continues this Sunday April 5 at 9/8c.