Killing Jesus (2015 film)

{{Infobox television

| image = Killing Jesus tv logo.png

| image_size = 240

| image_alt =

| caption = Promotional poster

| genre = {{plainlist|

}}

| creator =

| based_on = {{Based on|Killing Jesus|Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard}}

| writer = Walon Green

| screenplay =

| story =

| language = English

| country = United States

| director = Christopher Menaul

| starring = Haaz Sleiman
Kelsey Grammer
Stephen Moyer
Emmanuelle Chriqui
John Rhys-Davies

| narrated =

| theme_music_composer = Trevor Morris

| num_episodes =

| producer = Ridley Scott
David W. Zucker
Mary Lisio
Teri Weinberg
Mark Huffam

| editor = Xavier Russell

| cinematography = Ousama Rawi

| runtime = 132 minutes

| company = Scott Free Productions

| budget =

| network = National Geographic Channel

| released = {{Start date|2015|03|29}}{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2015/02/killing-jesus-premiere-date-trailer-national-geographic-channel-1201375969/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219042722/http://deadline.com/2015/02/killing-jesus-premiere-date-trailer-national-geographic-channel-1201375969/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 19, 2015|title='Killing Jesus' Premiere Date Set For March 29 On Nat Geo – Full Trailer|first=Patrick|last=Hipes|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=February 18, 2014|accessdate=February 18, 2014}}

}}

Killing Jesus is an American television film inspired by the 2013 book of the same title by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. This is National Geographic's third installment of television adaptations of O'Reilly's non-fiction books, which include Killing Lincoln and Killing Kennedy. The cast includes Haaz Sleiman, Kelsey Grammer, Stephen Moyer, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and John Rhys-Davies.{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nat-geos-killing-jesus-cast-738135 | title=Nat Geo's 'Killing Jesus' Cast Revealed (Exclusive) | last=Goldberg | first=Lesley | work=The Hollywood Reporter | date=October 6, 2014 | accessdate=December 9, 2014}}

It debuted on the National Geographic Channel on March 29, 2015.

Premise

The film chronicles the life of Jesus of Nazareth through the retelling of the political, social, and historical conflicts during the Roman Empire that ultimately led to his crucifixion.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2014/10/06/kelsey-grammer-national-geographic-killing-jesus-stephen-moyer-bill-oreilly/16810395/ | title=Kesley Grammer, cast announced for 'Killing Jesus' | last=Oldenburg | first=Ann | newspaper=USA Today | accessdate=December 9, 2014 | date=October 6, 2014}}

Cast

Development

In March 2014, it was announced Killing Jesus was being adapted into a four-hour miniseries, and Walon Green has been tapped to write and executive produce the project.{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2014/03/national-geographics-killing-jesus-to-expand-to-4-hours-walon-green-to-write-701056/|title=National Geographic's 'Killing Jesus' To Expand To 4 Hours, Walon Green To Write| first=Nellie| last=Andreeva| work=Deadline Hollywood|date=March 17, 2014|accessdate=December 9, 2014}} Also returning as executive producers are Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker, and Mary Lisio, who previously produced Killing Kennedy. In August 2014, Christopher Menaul was attached to direct the miniseries.{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2014/08/christopher-menaul-to-direct-killing-jesus-mini-for-nat-geo-ridley-scott-815800/|title=Christopher Menaul To Direct 'Killing Jesus' For Nat Geo & Ridley Scott|author=The Deadline Team|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=August 7, 2014|accessdate=December 9, 2014}}

Reception

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the series a 43% approval rating based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 5.70/10.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/killing_jesus|title=Killing Jesus|work=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=30 July 2021|archive-date=4 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404074436/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/killing_jesus|url-status=live}}

=Viewership=

On its premiere airing, the film was watched by 3.7 million viewers, averaging a 1.0 rating among adults in the 25-54 demographic. The viewership surpassed the record previously held by Killing Kennedy.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/killing-jesus-nabs-nat-geo-785319 | title='Killing Jesus' Nabs Nat Geo Ratings Record With 3.7 Million Viewers | last=O'Connell | first=Michael | magazine=The Hollywood Reporter | date=March 30, 2015 | accessdate=March 30, 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/killing-jesus-national-geogaphic-channel-tv-ratings-killing-kennedy/ | title='Killing Jesus' Slays Nat Geo Record With 3.7 Million Viewers | last=Maglio | first=Tony | website=TheWrap | date=March 30, 2015 | accessdate=March 30, 2015}}

=Accolades=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Association ! Category ! Nominee(s) ! Result
rowspan="2"\| 2015 \| Critics' Choice Television Awards \| Best Movie/Miniseries \| rowspan="3"\| Killing Jesus \| {{nom}}
Primetime Emmy Awards \| Outstanding Television Movie \| {{nom}}
2016 \| Satellite Awards \| Best Miniseries or Television Film \| {{nom}}

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Association

! Category

! Nominee(s)

! Result

rowspan="2"| 2015

| Critics' Choice Television Awards

| Best Movie/Miniseries

| rowspan="3"| Killing Jesus

| {{nom}}

Primetime Emmy Awards