NBC acquires rights to Mark Burnett sequel to ‘The Bible,’ titled ‘AD: Beyond the Bible’

Executive producer Mark Burnett’s miniseries The Bible was a massive ratings hit on the History Channel when it aired this past March, and now NBC hopes to replicate that success with a sequel series.

THR reports that NBC has acquired the rights to A.D.: Beyond the Bible, another miniseries that Burnett will produce with his wife Roma Downey.  The series will apparently have a much narrower focus than The Bible, as it centers on the events in the days after Jesus’ betrayal and death.

“NBC is thrilled to bring this highly anticipated sequel to Mark and Roma’s The Bible to network television,” said Jennifer Salke, president of NBC Entertainment. “There was huge interest in this project within the television community, and NBC is gratified by Mark’s confidence in our ability to partner with him and position this miniseries as true event television.”

Since its release on DVD and Blu-ray in April, The Bible has become the top-selling miniseries of all time, having sold more than 1 million units in the past three months.

Burnett is also working on a theatrical version of the miniseries which will be edited to play in a 3-hour format. Here‘s the latest on that project.

Burnett hinted to that a follow-up project was already in the works, with the stories falling “in the same world.” “We feel there is a void, and we’re filling that void,” he said at the time.