A.D. The Bible Continues

A.D. The Bible Continues (also known as A.D. Kingdom and Empire) is an American biblical drama television series, based on the Bible, and a sequel to the 2013 miniseries, The Bible, and follows up from the film Son of God which was a more in depth look on Jesus's story. It was produced by Roma Downey, Mark Burnett, and Richard Bedser. The limited series began airing on NBC on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015, in twelve weekly one-hour episodes. The story takes place immediately after the events of The Bible miniseries, and then of the Son of God film, beginning with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, and continues with the first ten chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. On July 3, 2015, NBC cancelled A.D. The Bible Continues after one season.

Main

 * Adam Levy as Peter
 * Babou Ceesay as John
 * Alastair Mackenzie as James, brother of Jesus
 * Denver Isaac as James the Great
 * Emmett J. Scanlan as Saul of Tarsus
 * Fraser Ayres as Simon the Zealot
 * Chipo Chung as Mary Magdalene
 * Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Thomas
 * Pedro Lloyd Gardiner as Matthew
 * Kenneth Collard as Barnabas
 * Joe Dixon as Philip the Evangelist
 * Reece Ritchie as Stephen
 * Richard Coyle as Caiaphas
 * Vincent Regan as Pontius Pilate
 * Joanne Whalley as Claudia, wife of Pontius Pilate

Supporting

 * Juan Pablo Di Pace as Jesus
 * Greta Scacchi as Mary
 * Kevin Doyle as Joseph of Arimathea
 * Helen Daniels as Maya, daughter of Peter
 * Struan Rodger as Gamaliel
 * Nicholas Sidi as Ananias of Damascus
 * Marama Corlett as Tabitha
 * Farzana Dua Elahe as Joanna
 * Jim Sturgeon as Chuza
 * Colin Salmon as the Ethiopian eunuch
 * Will Thorp as Cornelius the Centurion
 * James Callis as Herod Antipas
 * Claire Cooper as Herodias
 * Jodhi May as Leah, wife of Caiaphas
 * Ken Bones as Annas
 * Lex Shrapnel as Jonathan, son of Annas
 * Andrew Gower as Caligula
 * Kenneth Cranham as Tiberius
 * Michael Peluso as Herod Agrippa
 * Stephen Walters as Simon the Sorcerer
 * Peter De Jersey as Ananias, husband of Sapphira
 * Indra Ové as Sapphira
 * Chris Brazier as Reuben
 * as Boaz
 * Charlene McKenna as Eva
 * Francis Magee as Levi, the leader of the Zealots
 * John Benfield as Yitzhak, student of Simon the Sorcerer
 * John Ioannou as Melek, a healed cripple
 * as Judas Iscariot

Development
On December 17, 2013, it was announced that there would be a follow-up series to The Bible in 2015.

In anticipation of the global event, a number of companion materials were released in an effort by Palam Fidelis Publishing to engage thoughtful, religious discussion by offering "Family Discussion Guides" for each episode.

Reception
The show premiered on Easter Sunday 2015 on NBC to 9.7 million viewers. It averaged 6.5 million viewers across 12 episodes on NBC. Although the series has a strong viewership for the Easter Sunday premiere, ratings dropped significantly over the 12-week broadcast. NBC would cancel the series after one season. Producers Burnett and Downey said that they planned future biblical productions on an OTT digital channel in 2015, but as of 2024 a follow-up has not been released.

A.D.: The Bible Continues has received mixed reviews from critics. On the aggregate website Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes reported that 58 percent of critics have given the film a positive review based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 4.78/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Attempts to offer a fresh look at a traditional tale notwithstanding, A.D.: The Bible Continues doesn't do enough to set itself apart from its many predecessors."

In Australia, the series premiered on July 5, 2015, on the Nine Network, as A.D. Kingdom and Empire. It premiered to 472,000 viewers, losing 828,000 viewers from its 60 Minutes lead-in.