''Of Kings and Prophets'' is an American television drama based on the Biblical
Books of Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Josh ...
that premiered on
ABC. The series follows an ensemble of characters including
Saul
Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered t ...
and
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, the successive kings of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, their families, and their political rivals. ''Of Kings and Prophets'' is filmed in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
.
The series was originally scheduled to premiere in late 2015. However, due to creative changes; it was moved to mid-season in the
2015-16 television season, and premiered on March 8, 2016. Due to low ratings; ABC canceled the series after airing two episodes. As of February 2018, all nine episodes were available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube.
Cast
Main characters
*
Ray Winstone
Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...
as
Saul
Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered t ...
, the king of Israel.
*Olly Rix as
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, a shepherd and the future king of Israel.
*
Simone Kessell
Simone Kessell (born 19 August 1975) is a New Zealand television actress known for her role as Lt. Alicia Washington in the short lived Fox science fiction television series '' Terra Nova.'' In 2016, Kessell starred opposite Ray Winstone on t ...
as
Ahinoam
Ahinoam ( he, ''ʾăḥīnōʿam'') is a Hebrew name literally meaning ''brother of pleasantness'', or ''my brother is pleasant'', thus meaning ''pleasant''.
There are two references in the Bible to people; who bear that name;
*A daughter of Ahi ...
, the queen of Israel and Saul's wife.
*
James Floyd as
Ishbaal
Ish-bosheth ( he, , translit=ʼĪš-bōšeṯ, "man of shame"), also called Eshbaal (, ; alternatively spelled Ishbaal, "fire of Baal") was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the second monarch of the Kingdom of Israel who succeeded his father, Sau ...
, the younger son of Saul and Ahinoam.
*
Haaz Sleiman as
Jonathan, the elder son of Saul and Ahinoam.
*
Maisie Richardson-Sellers as
Michal
Michal (; he, מיכל , gr, Μιχάλ) was, according to the first Book of Samuel, a princess of the United Kingdom of Israel; the younger daughter of King Saul, she was the first wife of David (), who later became king, first of Judah, ...
, the younger daughter of Saul and a
Kushite
The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙 𓈉 ''kꜣš'', Assyrian: ''Kûsi'', in LXX grc, Κυς and Κυσι ; cop, ''Ecōš''; he, כּוּשׁ ''Kūš'') was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, centered along the Nile Valley in wh ...
concubine.
*
Jeanine Mason as
Merav, the elder daughter of Saul and Ahinoam.
*
Mohammad Bakri as
Samuel, the prophet of Israel.
*David Walmsley as
Yoab, the nephew of David.
*
Nathaniel Parker
Nathaniel Parker (born 18 May 1962) is an English stage and screen actor best known for playing the lead in the BBC crime drama series '' The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'', and Agravaine de Bois in the fourth series of ''Merlin''.
Early life
N ...
as
Achish, the king of Philistine.
Recurring characters
*
Louis Talpe as
Eliab
Eliab, also spelled Eliaab, is a male name, held by three different people in the Hebrew Bible, respectively the sons of Helon, Pallu, and Jesse. Only the last is covered in any detail.
Eliab, son of Helon
Eliab, the son of Helon, was one of the ...
, the eldest brother of David and soldier in Saul's army.
*
Christina Chong as
Rizpah
Rizpah (riz'-pa, "coal", "hot stone") was the daughter of Aiah, and one of Saul's concubines. She was the mother of Armoni and Mephibosheth (; ).
After the death of Saul, according to the Bible, Abner was implicitly accused of having aspiration ...
, the
concubine
Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive.
Concubi ...
of Saul.
*
Rowena King as Zaphra
*
Lyne Renee as
Witch of Endor
The Witch of Endor ( he, ''baʿălaṯ-ʾōḇ bəʿĒyn Dōr'', "she who owns the ''ʾōḇ'' of Endor") is a woman who, according to the Hebrew Bible, was consulted by Saul to summon the spirit of the prophet Samuel. Saul wished to receive ad ...
*
Alex McGregor as Sarah
Production
Writers Adam Cooper and Bill Collage said at the Television Critics Association press tour that they hope to push the envelope "as far as we can" in regards to the amount of sex and violence featured on the series.
Showrunner Chris Brancato later clarified "This story is an Old Testament
ne that'sviolent
ndsex-drenched. It's one of the world's first soap operas. ... You will watch a show that is tasteful but that also tells the story you can read if you want to pick up the Bible."
[ Then-ABC president Paul Lee (who was removed from the network before the show premiered) described the pilot episode simply as "muscular".]
Cooper suggested that if need be, some of the more graphic scenes on the series may be edited for public broadcast, and release the originally intended scenes for online viewing. This did indeed occur with the first episode, which was released online with additional sexual content and nudity that was not seen in the ABC broadcast.
Reception
Critical response
The show has received below average reviews from critics, with some critics negatively comparing it to '' Game of Thrones''.[ On ]Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the first season of ''Of Kings and Prophets'' received a score of 47/100 based on 16 media reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, it holds a 29% approval rating based on 17 media reviews with its critical consensus: "''Of Kings and Prophets'' tries to add a ''Game of Thrones''-inspired spin to the Old Testament, but ends up an aimless muddle." In the show's favor Variety wrote "Its courtly sets, tents, and marketplaces often have a pleasingly realistic level of detail, and some glimpses of the outdoor scenery of South Africa (which stands in for ancient Israel) are breathtaking." IGN noted, "It does have a few things going for it, including high production values and intriguing political and religious themes. Winstone (as Saul) brings a very human quality to the character that is usually left out of other depictions."
Parental group reaction
The Parents Television Council
The Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC), formerly the Parents Television Council (PTC), is an American media advocacy group founded by conservative Christian activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995, which advocates for what it considers ...
criticized the series for scenes of sex and violence and called for it to be removed from the network's schedule. The PTC has compared the show's content to a "broadcast" version of '' Game of Thrones''.
Ratings
The first episode opened up to 3.32 million viewers. The second episode had lower ratings, having live viewing of 2.42 million viewers, assuring the show's cancellation. '' Beyond the Tank'', which had aired several episodes in the fall and early winter in the same timeslot, returned for the remainder of the season.
Episodes
References
External links
*
*
*{{TV Guide
2010s American drama television series
2016 American television series debuts
2016 American television series endings
American Broadcasting Company original programming
Cultural depictions of David
English-language television shows
Television series based on the Bible
Television series by ABC Studios
Television shows filmed in South Africa