ABC is putting together a Bible-based series "Of Kings and Prophets" and plans to present it with lesser censorship, bringing out the sex and violence as told in the original literature. However, there is still an internal debate on how far the show should go when it comes to portraying non-TV friendly content.
Co-writer Adam Cooper believes that the best way to go along with the sensitive move is to present two types of cuts for explicit scenes: one for online and another for television. The latter will be more thoroughly edited to remove as much without having to lose the flow and storyline.
"We have more leeway with online content," Cooper said in an interview with Variety. "For instance, how much skin or sexuality we can show? I think we can show it in its pure form, but I think we're really talking about subtle distinctions" between online and broadcast. It's not like in the online version we're going to be showing scenes with people's heads being hacked off."
"Of Kings and Prophets" is a series to be released by ABC that tells the story of the conflict between David and Saul as told in the books of Samuel in the Bible. The show aims to tell the story as it is, including the sexual escapades and violence that the characters were part of.
The show is co-written by Cooper and Bill Collage, who also did the Bible-based film "Exodus: Gods and Kings," which Box Office Mojo reports grossed a worldwide total income of $268 million.
The series cast will include Ray Winstone as King Saul, Olly Rix as David, Mohammad Bakri as Samuel and Simone Kessell as Queen Ahinoam. The show will also include actors Nathaniel Parker, Haaz Sleiman, James Floyd, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Jeanine Mason and David Walmsley.
"Of Kings and Prophets" is scheduled to air on March 8, 2016.
