What if the modern world is treated to a man who suddenly emerges from the Middle East, only to perform miracles and claim that he is the savior of mankind? This is the question that "Messiah," a new "faith-based" series from Netflix, will try to deal with.
First announced in March of this year, Netflix finally ordered 10 episodes of "Messiah" on Nov. 16. The project was created by Michael Petroni together with producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. It is expected to begin streaming in 2019.
"Messiah" will be set in the modern world and, as mentioned, will focus on the story of a man emerging from the Middle East. This man will claim to be the appointed savior of mankind, gaining thousands of followers in the process.
This "Messiah" will be accompanied by a slew of supporting characters, including a Texan woman, a Latino preacher, Palestinian refugees, and even a CIA agent. It seems a cultural diversity is one of the points of interest for the show, which makes sense considering that the series, will, among other things, attempt to deconstruct and discuss the way the modern world would react to such a person.
While the show does have the potential to be controversial, the higher-ups at Netflix seem to believe that the series will turn out great.
"Messiah" promises to be a fascinating series for viewers of every faith and a thrilling drama filled with multi-layered characters set on a global stage," says Cindy Holland, Netflix's vice president for original content.
Petrino has experience with faith-based projects in the past. He is credited for the screenplay of "The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader." This film is based on the book series written by C.S. Lewis and is widely known to have plot elements allegorical to Christianity.
Burnett and Downey are no strangers to Christianity-based productions, as well. The duo is credited with History Channel's "The Bible" miniseries and the spinoff called "Son of God."
