Killing Jesus (2015 film)

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.

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.

Cast

 * Haaz Sleiman as Jesus
 * Alexis Rodney as Peter
 * Joe Doyle as Judas Iscariot
 * Aneurin Barnard as James
 * Abhin Galeya as John the Baptist
 * Rufus Sewell as Caiaphas
 * John Lynch as Nicodemus
 * John Rhys-Davies as Annas
 * Stephen Moyer as Pontius Pilate
 * Tamsin Egerton as Claudia
 * Kelsey Grammer as Herod the Great
 * Eoin Macken as Herod Antipas
 * Emmanuelle Chriqui as Herodias
 * Stephanie Leonidas as Salome
 * Vernon Dobtcheff as Isaiah
 * Klára Issová as Mary Magdalene
 * Mehdi Pyro as Andrew

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. 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.

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.

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.