''Killing Jesus'' is an American

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

inspired by the 2013 book of the same title by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. This is

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

's third installment of television adaptations of O'Reilly's non-fiction books, which include ''

Killing Lincoln ''Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever'' is a book by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard concerning the 1865 assassination of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. The book was released on September 27, 2011, and is t ...

'' and '' Killing Kennedy''. The cast includes

Haaz Sleiman Haaz Sleiman (; ; born 1 July 1976) is a Lebanese actor. He most notably played the role of Tarek in the 2007 film ''The Visitor (2007 drama film), The Visitor'' for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male ...

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained fame for his role as the psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984–1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993–2004, and again F ...

Stephen Moyer Stephen John Moyer (né Emery; born 11 October 1969) is an English actor and film director. He is best known for portraying the vampire Bill Compton in the HBO television series '' True Blood''. This was followed by the television film ''Lord ...

Emmanuelle Chriqui Emmanuelle Sophie Anne Chriqui ( ; born 10 December 1975) is a Canadian actress. She is known for playing Sloan McQuewick on HBO's '' Entourage'' (2004–11), Claire Bonner in '' Snow Day'' (2000), Dalia in ''You Don't Mess with the Zohan'' (200 ...

, and

John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor known for portraying Gimli (Middle-earth), Gimli in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy and Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise. He has received three ...

. It debuted on the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

on March 29, 2015.

Premise

The film chronicles the life of

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religi ...

through the retelling of the political, social, and historical conflicts during the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

that ultimately led to his crucifixion.

Cast

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

Alexis Rodney Alexis Rodney is a British actor known for his work in films such as ''Guardians of the Galaxy'', '' Killing Jesus'', and '' Buffalo Soldiers''. Biography and career Rodney started acting in 1997 at the National Youth Theatre The National Yo ...

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

* Joe Doyle as

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of sil ...

Aneurin Barnard Aneurin Barnard (; ; born 8 May 1987) is a Welsh actor. He is known for playing Davey in '' Hunky Dory'', Claude in '' The Truth About Emanuel'', Bobby Willis in '' Cilla'', Tim in '' Thirteen'', King Richard III in '' The White Queen'', Will ...

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

* Abhin Galeya as

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

Rufus Sewell Rufus Frederik Sewell (; born 29 October 1967) is a British actor. In film, he has appeared in ''Carrington (film), Carrington'' (1995), ''Hamlet (1996 film), Hamlet'' (1996), ''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998), ''Dark City (1998 film), Dark City'' (1 ...

Caiaphas Joseph ben Caiaphas (; c. 14 BC – c. 46 AD) was the High Priest of Israel during the first century. In the New Testament, the Gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John indicate he was an organizer of ...

* John Lynch as

Nicodemus Nicodemus (; ; ; ; ) is a New Testament figure venerated as a saint in a number of Christian traditions. He is depicted as a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin who is drawn to hear Jesus's teachings. Like Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus, Nicode ...

Annas Annas (also Ananus or Ananias;Goodman, Martin, "Rome & Jerusalem", Penguin Books, p.12 (2007) , ; , ; 23/22 BC – death date unknown, probably around AD 40) was appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the first High Priest of the newly form ...

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; ) was the Roman administration of Judaea (AD 6–135), fifth governor of the Judaea (Roman province), Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official wh ...

Tamsin Egerton Tamsin Olivia Egerton-Dick (born 26 November 1988) is an English actress known for her roles as Chelsea Parker in the 2007 film '' St Trinian's'', Holly Goodfellow in the 2005 film '' Keeping Mum'' and Guinevere in the 2011 television series ''Ca ...

as Claudia *

Herod the Great Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the ...

Eoin Macken Eoin Christopher Macken (born 21 February 1983) is an Irish actor, director, and model. Macken has modelled for Abercrombie and Fitch, Ralph Lauren, and GQ, and has appeared in films such as ''Resident Evil'', ''Close, Killing Jesus'', and '' ...

Herod Antipas Herod Antipas (, ''Hērṓidēs Antípas''; ) was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea. He bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both "Herod the Tetrarch" and "King Herod" in the New Testament. He was a s ...

Herodias Herodias (; , ''Hērōidiás''; c. 15 BC – after AD 39) was a princess of the Herodian dynasty of Judea, Judaea during the time of the Roman Empire. Christian writings connect her with the Beheading of John the Baptist, execution of John the Ba ...

Stephanie Leonidas Stephanie Leonidas (born 14 February 1984) is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the fantasy film '' MirrorMask'' (2005), the Syfy series '' Defiance'' (2013–2015), and the Crackle crime series '' Snatch'' (2017� ...

Salome Salome (; , related to , "peace"; ), also known as Salome III, was a Jews, Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II and princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New T ...

Vernon Dobtcheff Vernon Alexandre Dobtcheff (born 14 August 1934) is a French-British character actor, who has appeared in over 300 film, television, and stage productions in a career spanning six decades. Rupert Everett described him as a "patron saint of the ...

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

Klára Issová Klára Issová (born 26 April 1979), sometimes known as Klára Issa, is a Czech-Syrian film, stage and television actress. In 1997, she won the Czech Lion Award for Best Supporting Actress in ''Nejasná zpráva o konci světa''. She is the cou ...

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

* Mehdi Pyro as

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

Development

In March 2014, it was announced ''Killing Jesus'' was being adapted into a four-hour miniseries, and

Walon Green Walon Green (born December 15, 1936) is an American documentary film director and screenwriter, for both television and film. Career Green produced and directed documentaries for ''National Geographic'' and David Wolper, including '' The Hellstr ...

has been tapped to write and executive produce the project. Also returning as executive producers are

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

, David W. Zucker, and Mary Lisio, who previously produced ''Killing Kennedy''. In August 2014,

Christopher Menaul Christopher Menaul (born 25 July 1944) is a British film, television director and television writer. Since the late 1970s, Menaul has amassed credits in episodic television and by directing television films. Filmography Film *'' Feast of July' ...

was attached to direct the miniseries.

Reception

The review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

gave the series a 43% approval rating based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 5.70/10.

Viewership

On its premiere airing, the film was watched by 3.7 million viewers, averaging a 1.0 rating among adults in the 25-54 demographic. The viewership surpassed the record previously held by '' Killing Kennedy''.

Accolades

References

External links

* {{National Geographic films 2015 television films 2015 films 2015 drama films 2010s biographical films American biographical films Films about Christianity Films based on non-fiction books Films set in Israel Films set in Jerusalem Films set in 1st-century Roman Empire National Geographic (American TV channel) original programming Films about Jesus Film portrayals of Jesus' death and resurrection Portrayals of Mary, mother of Jesus, in film Films based on works by Bill O'Reilly (political commentator) Films based on works by Martin Dugard (author) Cultural depictions of John the Baptist Cultural depictions of Pontius Pilate Portrayals of Mary Magdalene in film Films directed by Christopher Menaul Scott Free Productions films 2010s American films American drama television films Films with screenplays by Walon Green Cultural depictions of Saint Peter Cultural depictions of Judas Iscariot Depictions of Herod the Great on film Cultural depictions of Salome Caiaphas Nicodemus Cultural depictions of Herod Antipas