‘A.D.: The Bible Continues’ Proves You Can’t Beat The Original

History Channel’s The Bible was such a ratings success that it was condensed into a movie and repackaged under the name, Son of God. The show averaged 11.7 millions viewers per episode and finished on a high of 13.1 million viewers. The Bible miniseries generated so much buzz that NBC decided to follow on where History Channel stopped with their latest series, A.D.: The Bible Continues. Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, who were the success behind History Channel’s The Bible, have joined up with Richard Bedser for NBC’s series, which began with the crucifixion of Christ and continues on through the Book of Acts. IMDb lists the synopsis for A.D.: The Bible Continues as follows.

“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, completely altering the entire world in an instant. Watch as the disciples struggle to survive and share their beliefs, guiding us 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.”

However, according to the Daily News, A.D.: The Bible Continues has debuted to a smaller audience than its predecessor, The Bible. The premiere episode of A.D.: The Bible Continues drew in 9.7 million viewers, but has dropped every week. The current weekly viewer average is only 7.9 million.

While A.D.: The Bible Continues has not been the ratings bonanza anticipated, the viewer numbers are still nothing to scoff at. According to TV Series Finale, The Messengers, another religious-based TV series (which also stars The Bible’s actor, Diogo Morgado) only pulled 1.2 million viewers with its latest episode. Of course, given the vast tome that is The Bible, it would be assumed Burrnett and Downey were hoping for a series that would run on through to the conclusion at the book of Revelations. In fact, Burnett has even stated he was hoping the show would be NBC’s equivalent of HBO’s juggernaut, Game of Thrones, but it seems the show just might be returning to the annals of history sooner rather than later.

Have you watched A.D.: The Bible Continues? How do you rate it against History Channel’s The Bible? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

[Image credit: NBC]