National Geographic Channel’s adaptation of Bill O’Reilly’s book Killing Jesus, nabbed 3.7 million viewers across Sunday night — the biggest audience in history. The channel noted that the 8 PM premiere’s 1.0 rating in adults 25-54 is the highest rating for that demo since the net’s November 2013 premiere of O’Reilly’s Killing Kennedy, which clocked a 1.1, and 300% higher than NatGeo’s Sunday 8-11 PM average this calendar year.
The film also premiered last night on Nat Geo Mundo in the U.S., and will air globally in 171 countries. And, Fox News Channel will repeat Killing Jesus this Friday at 8 PM and on Easter Sunday at 8 PM.
Fox News Channel star O’Reilly wrote Killing Jesus with Martin Dugard. Their two earlier books, Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln, also were adapted for NatGeo and had been the two most watched programs in the network’s history until last night’s Killing Jesus unveiling. Killing Kennedy nabbed 3.4 million viewers in its November 2013 launch, and Killing Lincoln had clocked 3.35 mil in February 2013. Before the Killing franchise came NatGeo’s way, NatGeo’s largest crowd came way back in August 2005 with Inside 9/11 which had logged an initial 3 mil.
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Last night’s numbers were good news for NatGeo’s new series The Big Picture With Kal Penn, debuting tonight, and Neil deGrasse’s new late-night talk show StarTalk, debuting April 20; both shows were promoted heavily during the Killing Jesus premiere.
Cast of Killing Jesus included Kelsey Grammer as King Herod the Great; Stephen Moyer as Pontius Pilate; Haaz Sleiman in the title role as Jesus; Rufus Sewell as Caiaphas; Emmanuelle Chriqui as Herodia; Eoin Macken as Antipas; and John Rhys Davies as Annas.
I had already read the book, which did give me new historical information about Temple politics and taxes, if correct.I found a few “errors” in the book.I am a Catholic and I have asked several Christian friends of different faiths about these.We all agreed that his facts contradicted everything we had been taught and read in our Bibles.Very disappointed in the movie.Mr.O kept saying his movie for tv was 2nd only to Lonesome Dove.He must not have seen many movies on tv.I watch Fox News daily.I am a Republican.I do not have an ax to grind.The movie was poorly edited.Now I know why Comcast called it a fictionalized account.I expected more from Ridley Scott.Sorry, Bill.
Well, we will find out! The movie will air two more times and the ratings will tell the truth.
Amen
your buddy bill orielly is not SAVED – nor is he a christian – if you watch fox all the time – you would know it’s a satanic network
Who are you to determine if someone is saved or is a Christian. Based on??? and your comment about Fox being a satanic network is just idiotic.
So now nat geo is the official Fox News channel movie station! You people haven’t seen nothing yet! I’m no longer a nat geo fan.
That’s great news…you are much more preferable in an anonymous capacity.
NatGeo is owned by Newscorp. You must have been supporting Rupert for quite some time. Moron.
They haven’t always owned nat geo. MORON.
That was dumb
dumb
I thought the movie adaptation of “Killing Jesus” was a BIG disappointment. Too many negatives to list.
And way too many commercials
I had already read the book and loved the movie last night. What’s next Bill?!
Shame on National Geographic for showing this MOVIE. It was not only not history but yet someone’s Passion Project that went back to blaming the Jews for the death of the Christian Messiah.
This was a poor example of what cable TV has become. A few wealthy individuals have way too much power over the information we see, the description of its contents and what is fact or fiction.
This FILM brought National Geographic down to the level of E, and TLC. To bad especially since it drew such a large audience!
Ellen, how does someone have so much power over the information you see? Can’t you just change the channel?
You cannot blame Jews OK even if they were the ones who wanted Jesus to die? You do not get it after all these centuries. Jesus went willingly. No one is to blame for Jesus fulfilling His destiny. May we all fulfill ours. It will pale drastically compared to what Jesus did for you and me and also the ignorant haters posting on this site.
Well said ,”Tom” on March 30th. He went to the cross knowingly to fulfill the Father’s plan for mankinds salvation. Unimaginable love. Let’s talk about that instead of all the name calling. Pretty sad.
A point to remember, Tom. Jesus was a Jew. All of his deciples were Jews. The thousands of people who followed to hear him were Jews. Absolutely all of the first Christians were Jews. All of the “Jewish” Christian leaders had to get together and decide if anyone who was not a Jew could even receive the salvation offered by the sacrifice of Jesus. That being said, I thought the movie was a travesty of the truth revealed in scripture.
Shame on them for getting their best rating’s!
Bill O’Reilly’s production of Killing Jesus is superficial and just a boilerplate of segments of history. It is exceptionally shallow and broken into pieces that are incomplete and ignorant of historical facts. Furthermore, it borders on blasphemy on several counts — particularly when Jesus is laughing and high-fiving while leaving the Temple after explaining the Temple will be destroyed and he will rebuild it in three days. O’Reilly misses totally with this venture into entertainment, which is all his daily show is anyway.
There are so many facts right from the beginning that were incorrect. Jesus knew at a young age exactly who he was and didn’t need to be convinced by John the Baptist that he was the son of God. Stopped watching because our grandkids were watching and listening to a false narrative.
hahahahahah. People seem to think it’s based in a true story. Too funny.
Amen
I completely agree with you my husband and I turned it off after the actor playing Jesus was acting like he was shocked finding out who he was. What a bunch of garbage! So glad my kids weren’t watching. We can’t trust much of any tv show potraying Jesus. Twisting, changing scripture . We were very disappointed.
You are absolutely right, “Disappointed”. What a wonderful opportunity he had to portray the truth, but instead he chose to make up an alternate story. Made me wonder if he had even read the Gospels himself. Like another responder, I turned it off after about 30 minutes.
Bill O’Reilly knows how Jesus died because he was there.
no that was Brian Williams
I thought everything about “killing Jesus” was wrong. The acting was horrible. The language was too modern, they talked like we do, not realistic. The hairdo’s were very today, all the men needed were suits. The womens hairdo looked liked the 60’s. John the Baptist looked like a bizarre hippy. Jesus was just dumb and not good looking at all. Jesus was suppose to be beautiful, he was not even close to capturing our beloved Jesus. It jumped from one event to another too quickly, it explained nothing. I was insulted. Whoever did this was terrible, it looked like a church passion play. Just awful!
Have you seen Him???
The series “The Bible” is the best….
I agree %100!!!
Luella, where did you get the idea that Jesus was beautiful in appearance? The only time his looks are mentioned is in Isaiah 53:2b “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him”.
Also, the language in the movie is modern, like we talk today. How would you have them talk – in Aramaic, as they really talked? I prefer they show movies with the people of biblical times talking as we talk today. I never did like the bible movies from the 1950’s etc. where they had the actors talking is stilted, old fashioned type talk. The people in Jesus’ time talked and acted just like us, only in Aramaic. They were not formal in their speech, they were just like you and me in their actions and speech.
The Commercials are 1/2 the 3 hours. I, however loved it! The Movie, Glad I taped it so I could blow past the non-stop commercials.
As an senior I am like many seniors fairly religious. As a result I’ve watched almost every biblical movie shown on TV & bought some that weren’t. My favorite is of course “The Ten Commandants” but King of Kings is a close #2.
So when I saw in my Nat’l Geo magazine that The Killing of Jesus was on Sunday evening @ 8PM I could hardly wait! I love the magazine & I thought this will be wonderful because everything they do is great!
Well it wasn’t & I don’t think it was Nat’l Geo’s fault. I think it was the writer & producer’s error. Right from the first, it took on a nice, realistic feeling but it didn’t cover many important points in Jesus early child hood.
Then when it get’s to his entering the picture as a full grown man, it becomes almost unbelievable. When they show him coming up on the Gordon river to be baptized, the camera shows him looking around as if he has just been dropped off by a space ship & he’s not sure where he is!
And this goes on and on throughout the hold story. I know time was probably a factor but this script was so badly written is was almost a joke! The actors did a great job, considering what they had to work with, but I hope the next time Nat’l Geo does one of these specials, they fine someone who knows how to write!
Agree! I had to turn it off.
Extremely disappointed. So many anachronisms, not too mention the lack of continuity. Hair and beards all looked fake. I liked the book, but this adaption wasn’t even close.
I didn’t read the book, but tried to watch the movie. I have to turn off my TV ’cause the movie was horrible. One of the many weird scenes was when Judas Iscariot bought a rope from a Shepherd to hang himself. Even if it’s in history why was this segment important to be shown? Also Jesus was almost naked when carrying a log or lumber. I thought he was suppose to carry a cross.
My friend, what I suggest is to read the Bible. It was and is very important to show what Judas did after he betrayed Jesus because it was at that point he realized what he had done. The cross that you speak of is a more modern version of the actual cross he had. It was more like a trunk of a tree. Please don’t get caught up in the world’s depiction of this event, rather focus on the torture HE endured, so we could have life.
Dear National Geographic. Why Why oh Why did you stoop down to the gutter to air this demonic, evil, satanic and wickedness tied to bill oreilly and fox news demonic’s ???
All bill and his culprits did was what thomas jefferson did – re-write while leaving out EACH and EVERY ONE OF JESUS’ MIRACLES ….
GOD, CHRIST nor THE HOLY SPIRIT would tell anyone to do such wickedness.
This movie did more harm than good. Very disappointed. This wasn’t even close to the Jesus I know an love.
I enjoyed the movie did not read the book so can’t compare but found it interesting well acted. (The beards never seem real in these type of movies)
Well Oriely you did at good job at killing Jesus, Love the way it started by saying it was off the Bible, however they forgot to include the resurrection and MANY other aspects of Biblical truth, I think the end proved it all by the comment, Mason Christian Faith, THIER IS NO SUCH A THING. wow to those who call them selves Jews but are of the synagogue of Satan, i.e.: (Freemason Maggots) you know the folks on the back of the one dolor Bill Oh and on the Twenty. Building 7, 1500 witness Denied: Oh But Bill the ALMIGHTY He knows, humm Prophets of Dagon, Need I say More. Oh and BTW im not a Nut Oriely, Before you bloviate all over yourself, Just a citizen who know the truth.
Amen! They are also the prophets of Baal. This showed nothing about the real Christian faith that many people do not see. This is Freemasonry. Disappointed in Bill.
Our family anticipated the movie all day, but came away sorely disappointed. There were MANY errors and important details left out. Even our 8 year old daughter could tell the huge difference between the movie and the Biblical account. I think the most disturbing difference was the way that the movie portrayed Jesus as just a man (even confused about who he was and what was going on in his early years), who became a prophet (after people eventually listened to him) and then finally died on the cross seemingly as a man who had eventually accepted with plastic humility the huge cross he must bare for society (pardon the pun). The Bible clearly says that Jesus is deity, who would have known exactly who he was, was listened to by crowds immediately upon starting his ministry, and died as the only perfect Godly sacrifice for our sins, giving himself willingly. Very disappointed. Will not be watching any other movies by this same group.
Great movie! I don’t believe this was intended to be a documentary on the life/death of Jesus. Looks to me that it was intended to show how the intense lust for power and wealth drives treacherous people to do unmentionable eval deeds. It’s still happening today. Just look at the world news. Heck, just look at this great countries capital. You do know that this earth Satins playground.
I am glad for one that the actors were more ideal of how the people may have looked during those times instead of the Hollywood version blond hair blue eyes..
This movie was not very good. From the questionable sequences of how certain events unfolded to the heavy emphasis on the political, the greed and corruption of the temple authorities, to the many private conversations, which couldn’t possibly be verified. Also, O’Reilly’s love of politics overshadowed in many ways the crux of Jesus life, that is he came to establish the kingdom of God and to open the gates of heaven to all. He wasn’t really all that riled up about unfair taxation and other political issues of the day – he was fired up about spreading the good news convincing mankind of God’s love and his desire for all to be saved. I think it was a bad read on O’Reilly’s part to think he could box Jesus into a history lesson and make some significant contribution to the world view of Jesus.
What a flop!!! Totally missed the mark… This movie is ridiculous… I don’t know what Bible Bill and the other writers were reading from but it was completely all wrong… What a shame. Stopped watching it after Jesus showed up at the Jordan River and they made it look like he had no idea why he was even there… That was enough for me. Actually I should have stopped watching it after the Magi showed up.. How pitiful. Go back and read the New Testament in the Catholic Bible before you decide to make a movie. 👎👎👎👎
You are right this upsets me to think that people will watch this movie and think because Bill w/help wrote this book and then the movie based on his book is gospel. It all was completely wrong, as you mentioned Jesus not knowing who he is or that he didn’t know John, they were cousins. Gabriel the angle told Elizabeth that she was going to have a baby/John the baptist and Mary her cousin who was pregnate with Jesus went to visit Elizabeth. I did watch the movie, but it upset me that Bill could write so much misinformation, the bible says every word of God is flawless, do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you.
I really enjoyed the 1st part,just a shame it wasn’t commercial free,really looking forward to part 2 of killing Jesus from Tim fulford from Southampton
If you haven’t read the bible account of Jesus, you might like this movie. I have enjoyed all the bible movies. Some very good, some not so good. Killing Jesus is the most inaccurate bible movie I’ve seen. I don’t recommend it to anyone. Don’t waste 3 hours on this movie. Read 3 hours of the true bible account of Jesus.
Look my fellow humans. This movie is fact-based. The facts are laid out in an entertaining way. If it is not something that could hold up in a court of law, it is not in the movie. So you will not see a lot of things that you would have expected by a Biblical faith-based movie. Just the facts and the facts are pretty convincing proving the story of Jesus. Just the facts. There they were and you all were lost in your faith and Bibles. Not uh…this ws not that kind of movie.. Did you not know that? Now you are “enlightened” so to speak. SO stop bashing something for what it was never MEANT to be…Come on people! Wise up!
We are wise, wake up and look at the facts. Who put this out. Enlightend, NOT! Hermanetical Babalonian Masonic garbage!
I can respect that viewpoint Tom. However, I think by minimizing the miracles the story of Jesus was lacking. For instance, why did His disciples sacrifice everything they had, including their lives, to spread the word about Jesus? Was it because he preached love? Doubtful. Was it because he was a revolutionary? Many revolutionaries before and after him never had such an impact. No, it was because Jesus boldly declared that he was the Son of God and manifested it through miracles especially the resurrection. Who would go about giving up their money, homes, friends, and life to spread a lie and made up stories? Not just one person, but many. Because of what they witnessed and what He declared, Jesus is the legacy He is today….Without it, he would not have the same impact and is likely that we would not be talking about HIm today.
Amen! Jesus was not just some rebel prophet..he was and still is the one true son of god…notice this low budget joke of a movie don’t show one miracle…that’s not by mistake they want you to believe jesus was just a common man that got notorious for having a good message..bill your ignorance has truly been pull to the light…instead of watching the passion you should actually give the bible a look…nuff said
Sorry, but I turned it off about 2/3 of the way thru it. Did not see the Jesus I know. Eyes were cold and incompassionate. He was portrayed as a rebel rowser which he wasn’t. He was a teacher in my mind. not a trouble maker. I’ve seen other actors portray Jesus with much more feeling and compassion. I didn’t like this show at all.
I believe the only reason it got such high ratings is because it was written and touted by Bill O’Reilly. O’Reilly’s show is great, and I agree with a lot of what he speaks about. This movie, not so much. I imagine if they took a poll at 10:45 P.M. on Sunday, the rating would have been dramatically lower. The movie was a disappointment from the very start. In my small group of family and friends, we all feel the same. We are not over zealous Christian’s, but Catholic’s – and we aren’t the so-called ‘Bible-thumping’ one’s either. Just normal people who have faith. And that is the major flaw in this movie; it was missing Faith. It is difficult to do an ‘historic’ movie about the ‘greatest story ever told’, when faith is the reason Christianity exists to begin with. In my opinion, if you remove faith from this story, then it doesn’t make sense.
There is no evidence jesus existed. None. It’s funny how so many people are argueing about a mythical person .
Wow! Are you wrong. Any serious, intelluctural person would never say that Jesus is a mythical person. He is real and I know that.