Producers of A.D. The Bible Continues have acknowledged that they took some creative liberties with the 12-part miniseries, saying that audiences will recognise elements of House of Cards and Game of Thrones in the show.
Mark Burnett, who co-produced the epic tale with his wife Roma Downey, said that they took a different approach to the series to help audiences consider the stories they have known their entire life from a fresh perspective.
"It's kind of 'House of Cards' meets 'Game of Thrones,' it's the political intrigue but huge action all wrapped up in the Bible," Burnett said in an interview with Fox Insider.
The highly anticipated series is a sequel to the successful 10-part epic The Bible, which drew bumper audiences when it aired in 2013.
A.D. The Bible Continues premiered Easter Sunday on NBC, to mixed reviews from critics. While the general consensus was that American Christian viewers would have a fine appreciation for the show, there were also reviewers who expressed reservations about technical aspect of the series.
Among those who gave the film positive reviews was Sami K. Martin of the Christian Post who dubbed the initial episode "dramatic." Martin concluded that while the filmmakers took liberties with the characters' representations and thoughts, the Bible is closely adhered to.
The reviewer lauded the cast for the real-life accuracy of their portrayals for the time period, something New York Times' Neil Genzliger, also commended.
In his post, Genzlinger said he saw rich character development in A.D. and quality acting. He cited in particular, the performances of Vincent Regan who played Pontius Pilate and Joanne Whalley, who played his wife Claudia.
Robert Bianco of USA Today said A.D. was an improvement to the original The Bible series, which Burnett and Downey also produced.
"Thanks to the success of the first version, however, A.D. is not simply a retread — and does not have to recycle old footage. A larger budget has allowed for better production values, and some rethinking has allowed for a stronger and more diverse cast," he said.
While there were positive reviews, there were those who were not as impressed with the first episodes of the miniseries.
Cinemablend's Jessica Rawden complained of a lack of buildup and backdrop for some of the other characters that audiences may not be familiar with, and a tendency to delve into "mundane details and goofy CGI."
TV columnist Brian Lowry, who writes for Variety, said that A.D. offered nothing "that would distinguish it from earlier screen depictions of this tale, beyond extending the narrative past Jesus' death to the establishment of Christianity in the face of Roman oppression."
Both conceded, however, that the series would have a very strong resonance with the faithful, which the series is ultimately aimed at.
