National Geographic's "Killing Jesus" miniseries set a new record for the educational channel, when it debuted last Sunday.
The Bill O'Reilly project averaged 3.7 million viewers— 300,000 more than the previous recordholder, 2013's "Killing Kennedy."
The 2.8 household rating was the second-highest in the network's history, and the 1.0 rating among adults 25-54 was also a new high.
"Killing Jesus" was based on the best-selling book by O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, and starred Haaz Sleiman as Jesus, Kelsey Grammer as King Herod, and Stephen Moyer as Pontius Pilate. "Exodus: Gods and Kings" director Ridley Scott is one of the executive producers.
The encore presentation aired on Good Friday and Easter Sunday on Fox News, and was a hit with viewers on the popular cable news network. "Killing Jesus" drew higher ratings than CNN and MSNBC, averaging 1.86 million viewers and 385,000 viewers in the coveted 25-54 demographic.
"'Killing Jesus' was our most ambitious production to date, coupled with one of our largest cross-platform promotional campaigns," National Geographic Channels CEO Courteney Monroe said last week after the series premiere.
"We are thrilled that audiences responded to the film with the same enthusiasm and passion we had for this production since day one.
"The success of our premiere last night is due to the hard work and dedication of the production team on the ground in Morocco, the talented and versatile cast and the support of our partners at National Geographic and Fox."
Sleiman, who was raised in the Islamic faith, said that the role has allowed him to experience God in ways that he never had before.
"There is something about what you put out and what comes to you," he explained last month. "God created me. And the closest I will ever get with God is this soul, this body.
"And if I don't have myself, if I don't listen to myself, if I don't trust myself, then I don't trust God because God created me."
