If the time period “faith programming” conjures photos of Jesus Christ or Bible-thumping pastors in your head, you doubtless haven’t seen one of many titles on Surprise Mission’s slate. Together with shingles like Angel Studios (“Sound of Freedom”) and 5&2 Studios (“The Chosen”), the manufacturing firm behind the hit TV collection “House of David” is taking faith-based movie and tv far past the strictly non secular content material of a bygone period.
Onto the entrance traces of the streaming wars, for example.
With the Oct. 5 launch of a subscription-based channel for $8.99 monthly, or $89.99 per 12 months, on both a standalone app or by way of an present Prime Video subscription, Surprise Mission is betting on a extra trendy strategy to the faith-based, or values, market — by way of each storytelling and platform.
Kelly Merryman Hoogstraten.
(Billy Moon)
“What we’re seeing now is that faith programming is broader, more nuanced and more contemporary than it may have been in the past,” says Traci Blackwell, a senior improvement government at Amazon MGM Studios. “It often explores themes of hope, perseverance, community and moral complexity in ways that resonate with both faith-based and mainstream audiences.”
Surprise Mission Chief Govt Kelly Merryman Hoogstraten labored with founder and Chief Content material Officer Jon Erwin to pinpoint and construct a broad programming slate constructed round 4 thematic “circles”: God, household, nation and desires.
A kind of tales is the scripted drama “House of David,” which premiered in February on Prime Video and grabbed greater than 40 million viewers. The collection, created by Erwin, follows the long-lasting sheepherder (Michael Iskander) who’s anointed King of Israel, then defeats an enormous named Goliath (Martyn Ford) within the eight-episode first season. The collection clearly has biblical roots, however it’s meant to draw greater than a distinct segment viewers. “The production values, storytelling and universal themes appeal well beyond that [faith] core. That’s why the category has expanded into what we’d call ‘inspirational storytelling’ that can live alongside any other premium series,” says Blackwell.
The success of Surprise Mission’s subscription service is intimately linked to making sure that “House of David” suffers no sophomore stoop: In an sudden transfer, Season 2 will premiere with two episodes on Surprise Mission’s launch day and won’t be obtainable on Prime Video till a later date.
Michael Iskander as David and Indy Lewis as Princess Mychal in “House of David.” Picture Credit score: Jonathan Prime/Prime © Amazon Content material Providers LLC
(Jonathan Prime)
“This kind of strategic windowing actually strengthens the show’s life cycle,” Blackwell explains. “Wonder Project offers an early home for fans who are eager to see it first, and when the series arrives on Prime Video, it reaches a much larger audience worldwide. For us, it’s about extending the impact and ensuring the show has multiple opportunities to capture viewers across platforms.”
Considering of the viewers and the way they’re watching is one thing Merryman Hoogstraten says follows the mannequin of streaming competitor Netflix, the place she labored as vice chairman of content material acquisition from 2007 to 2014.
“One of the reasons I think Netflix was so successful in those early days is that we were really flexible,” she says. “We looked at the project, we looked at the partner, and we said, ‘What is the best thing for the audience?’”
Moreover “House of David,” different Surprise Mission choices embody originals like “Redemption,” a restricted docuseries following Ohio State’s 2024 soccer season set to premiere on the service in October, a Christmas particular hosted by Little Huge City’s Kimberly Schlapman slated for December and the forthcoming up to date scripted drama “It’s Not Like That,” starring Scott Foley as a widowed pastor and Erinn Hayes as a divorcee. The service additionally consists of greater than 125 licensed titles together with collection like “Party of Five” and “The Conners” and movies comparable to “Rudy,” “Dead Poets Society” and “The Sound of Music.” Some titles can be found in each authentic and edited-for-TV variations for youthful audiences.
That viewers is more and more engaging to Hollywood as a result of it’s a fluid — and nonetheless underserved — market. “It’s bigger than we sometimes think because we think about faith as a genre instead of an audience,” Erwin says. “But I’m in my early 40s, a father of four kids, and I can’t get anything that my kids and I can watch together. I don’t know if a show that I’m watching is going to be offensive or not.”
Jon Erwin.
(Surprise Mission)
Although it options constantly excessive stakes and its personal recreation of thrones, “House of David” may be very mild on intercourse and profanity, and when it does comprise violence, comparable to within the David and Goliath showdown within the Season 1 finale, it’s not as graphic as or sustained as sure opponents. That makes it each premium and household viewing, which you’ll’t say for “The Last of Us” or “Squid Game.”
“There’s a beautiful thing about Wonder Project,” says Erwin. “I am the audience.”
