Nat Geo Channel and Scott Free Productions have signed Christopher Menaul to direct “Killing Jesus,” a three-hour TV event based on the best-selling book by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard.
“Killing Jesus” is expected to premiere globally on National Geographic Channel in 2015 in 171 countries and 45 languages, and in Spanish on Nat Geo Mundo. The TV film is currently in pre-production, and is scheduled to begin shooting this fall with a teleplay from Oscar and Emmy award-winning screenwriter Walon Green.
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Menaul has worked extensively in television for more than 30 years — much of it in the U.K. — winning BAFTA awards for “Prime Suspect” and “See No Evil: The Moors Murders.”
“Killing Jesus” is from the same team behind the Emmy-nominated “Killing Kennedy,” including executive producers O’Reilly, Ridley Scott, David Zucker, Mary Lisio, Teri Weinberg and Charlie Parsons. For National Geographic Channel, executive vice president of programming and strategy Heather Moran executive produces.
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“Killing Jesus” is the third collaboration between Nat Geo, Scott Free and O’Reilly. In November 2013, Nat Geo aired “Killing Kennedy,” a 2014 Emmy nominee for best television movie and the most-watched program in the channel’s history. The network’s second most-watched program is the trio’s “Killing Lincoln,” which aired over Presidents Day weekend in February 2013.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the teams at National Geographic Channel and Scott Free to bring ‘Killing Jesus’ to life,” Menaul said in a press release. “We’re already hard at work in pre-production, and feel confident we can repeat the incredible worldwide success of the previous two films in this franchise.”
