Nat Geo Plans ‘Killing Jesus’ Telefilm

Following the February telecast of Killing Lincoln and the upcoming Killing Kennedy, National Geographic Channel will again partner with Scott Free Productions for a film version of Killing Jesus: A History, the forthcoming book by Bill O’Reilly.

Killing Jesus will be published on Sept. 24, 2013, and tells the story of Jesus’ killing by Roman soldiers and the historical events that made his death inevitable. Production on the TV adaptation will begin this fall with a global premiere in 2014.

When Nat Geo aired Killing Lincoln last February, it became the network’s most-watched telecast ever, drawing 3.4 million viewers to its premiere.

Killing Jesus will join the list of other recent religious-focused programming including the History miniseries The Bible, which drew more than 13 million viewers to its debut, and ReelzChannel’s Barabbas, which premieres on Monday.