Joel Osteen to Executive Produce Latest Jesus Series

The History Channel’s eight-episode event, Jesus: His Life explores the story of Jesus Christ through a unique lens: the people in his life who were closest to him. Each of the eight chapters is told from the perspective of different biblical figures, all of whom played a pivotal role in Jesus’ life including Joseph, John the Baptist, Mary Mother of Jesus, Caiaphas, Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, Mary Magdalene and Peter.

Each figure takes a turn guiding viewers through the emotional and epic story of the most famous man in history, through his birth, death and resurrection, all conveyed through a combination of scripted drama and interviews with prominent religious and historical experts. Utilizing some of the world’s most respected Biblical scholars, historians, faith leaders and theologians, the series weaves together the canonical Gospels, historical sources and cultural context to create a complete portrait of Jesus—the man and the Messiah.

The series reveals his journey through a complex world of kings, politicians, reformers and soldiers in a turbulent power struggle during a time of revolutionary change. Jesus: His Life brings viewers into this dramatic world to reveal the greatest story ever told. The series premieres two episodes back-to-back weekly beginning on Monday, March 25, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, with the finale airing just before Easter. A+E Networks holds exclusive worldwide distribution rights for the series, which is produced by Nutopia.

Jesus: His Life brings together some of the world’s top scholars, historians and faith leaders from diverse ideological and theological perspectives to tell the story of Jesus in a new way,” said Mary Donahue, SVP, programming and development for the History channel. “Viewers will see and experience the life of Jesus as never before, through this powerful and thought-provoking portrait of a man who is one of the most influential people in human history.”

The series interviews and consulted with a diverse group of scholars, faith leaders and theologians from across the ideological spectrum to provide a rounded picture of the life and times in which Jesus lived, including:

• Robert Cargill – assistant professor of Judaism, Christianity and classics, University of Iowa
• Christena Cleveland – associate professor, Duke University Divinity School
• Bishop Michael Curry – presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church
• Nicola Denzey Lewis – professor in the department of religion, Claremont Graduate University
• Joshua DuBois – author and CEO, Values Partnerships and head of White House Office of faith-based and neighborhood partnerships under President Obama
• Rabbi Joshua Garroway – associate professor of early Christianity and the second commonwealth, Hebrew Union College
• Mark Goodacre – professor in the department of religious studies, Duke University
• Nyasha Junior – associate professor of Hebrew Bible, Temple University
• Mark Leuchter – professor and director of Jewish Studies, Temple University
• Kimberly Majeski – associate professor of biblical studies and Christian ministries, Anderson University
• Father James Martin, S.J – Jesuit priest and author
• Ryan McAnnally-Linz – associate director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture
• Scot McKnight – professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary
• Father Jonathan Morris – Catholic priest
• Candida Moss – professor of theology, University of Birmingham (U.K.)
• Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III – senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ
• Joel Osteen – senior pastor of Lakewood Church, New York Times’ best-selling author and executive producer
• Michael Peppard – associate professor in New Testament, early Christian studies, religion and public life, Fordham University
• Reverend Gabriel Salguero – pastor andpresident of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition
• Stephen Schneck – associate professor of politics, Catholic University of America
• Simon Sebag Montefiore – historian and author
• Reverend Shively Smith – assistant professor of New Testament, Boston University School of Theology
• Pastor Susan Sparks – preacher, comedian and author
• Miroslav Volf –founder/director, Yale Center for Faith and Culture and professor of theology, Yale University Divinity School
• Ben Witherington III – professor of New Testament for doctoral studies, Asbury Theological Seminary
• Annette Yoshiko Reed – associate professor of religious studies, New York University

Jesus: His Life is produced for History by Nutopia, with Jane Root and Ben Goold serving as executive producers. Eli Lehrer, Mary Donahue and Evan Lerner serve as executive producers for History. Joel Osteen also serves as executive producer. A+E Networks holds exclusive worldwide distribution rights for Jesus: His Life.