Netflix’s Moses Series Sought Accurate Representation of Christianity, Producer Says
The creator of a new three-part docuseries on Netflix about Moses says one goal of the project was to represent different faith traditions accurately and that he believes the series will inspire and educate viewers.
That docuseries, Testament: The Story of Moses, launches on Netflix on March 27 and includes perspectives from Muslims, Christians and Jewish people but also various views from within each tradition. For example, the viewpoint of historic Christianity is well represented.
“We had done a couple of historic docuseries for Netflix in the past that were well received,” Kelly McPherson, a creator and executive producer and a founding partner of Karga Seven Pictures, told Christian Headlines. “We love history, and love doing these big epic stories. And the Netflix documentary department called us up and said, ‘Hey, we want to do a series on the Bible. Are you guys interested?’ And we said, ‘Yep.’”
McPherson and his team picked Moses as the subject.
“It’s a big challenge, because it’s been done, and it’s been done well, but we love the idea that Moses and Exodus is such a touchstone for so many people across so many walks of life. So we knew we had something that was iconic that people would relate to, and be drawn to,” he said.
The goal, he said, was to make a docuseries “in a way that feels different from the other versions [while] being true to the original story.” Netflix’s official summary says the docuseries tells how Moses went from “outcast and outlaw to deliverer of the Israelites and messenger of God.”
Although the series includes different viewpoints, the perspective of historic Christianity is accurately represented. For example, during the series’ depiction of Israelite families covering their doorposts with blood, viewers learn that for Christians, “This is a foreshadowing of the New Testament and Jesus Christ — the blood of the lamb, the sacrifice of lamb — and it’s only by His blood that you’re going to be saved.” During the Israelites’ crossing of the Red Sea, an on-screen expert says the Bible presents the event as a miracle of God, and not as a natural occurrence.
It was filmed in Morocco and includes interviews with experts.
McPherson said he was “surprised” how well the series was received by people from different perspectives. The subject, he noted, is far more significant than a project about “George Washington crossing the Delaware.”
It is, he said, “respectful to all faiths.”
“If you come to this story, knowing it well [and] growing up with it, I hope it feels different, it feels like you may learn something you didn’t know [and] it still moves you in the same way,” he said. “If you don’t come to it with any real knowledge of it, [I hope] that you’re like, ‘This is just a great, inspiring story.’
“It’s such a great story.”
Image Courtesy: Netflix
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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