Although History Channel did do “The Bible,” the credit for that would go almost entirely to producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett. The cablenet’s history on religion-related documentaries is spotty, from the mostly OK to the generally silly — and there are lots of questions about the depiction of Christianity in the network’s hit show “Vikings.”
One of the most fascinating sagas of the Middle Ages was of the Knights Templar (not to be confused with the modern Knights Templar, which is an ecumenical Christian fraternal organization), who fought bravely in the Crusades (some even think they could provide a template, as it were, for fighting ISIS) but wound up getting entangled in money and French royal politics — and perhaps some very serious sin.
Click here to see the story of the Templars, from a Catholic perspective.
How History will handle this is anyone’s guess — and actor Jeremy Renner (“The Hurt Locker”) has reportedly studied religion but has not, at least in public, shown himself to be religious — but it’s one to watch. As of right now, it’s “in development,” which means it has not yet been picked up as a series, but if it is, it could be a considered a companion to “Vikings.”
From today’s inbox:
HISTORY® ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT OF SCRIPTED SERIES KNIGHTFALL
Produced by A+E Studios in Association with
Jeremy Renner’s The Combine and Midnight Radio
New York, New York – March 23, 2015 – HISTORY® is in-development with KNIGHTFALL, a scripted series chronicling the actual events leading up to and following the persecution, downfall and burning at the stake of the Knights Templar on Friday the 13th, 1307, it was announced today by Dirk Hoogstra, EVP and General Manager, HISTORY & H2. Friday the 13th is known as a cursed day over 700 years later because of this event. KNIGHTFALL will be produced for HISTORY by A+E Studios in association with Jeremy Renner and Don Handfield’s production company The Combine and Midnight Radio.
KNIGHTFALL is created and executive produced by Don Handfield (Touchback, The Founder, Kill the Messenger) and Richard Rayner (L.A. Without A Map) with Jeremy Renner (American Hustle, The Hurt Locker) also serving as executive producer from The Combine. Executive producers from Midnight Radio are Jeff Pinkner (Alias, Fringe), Andre Nemec (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol), Josh Appelbaum (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) and Scott Rosenberg (Beautiful Girls). Dirk Hoogstra, Russ McCarroll and Julian P. Hobbs are Executives in Charge of Production for HISTORY.
Image: Knights Templar, Wikimedia Commons
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