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''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 (Joshu ...
that premiered on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
. 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 tri ...
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 southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. 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 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 tri ...
, 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 th ...
as Ahinoam, 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 Haaz Sleiman (; ar, هاز سليمان; born July 1, 1976) is a Lebanese actor. He most notably played the role of Tarek in the 2007 film '' The Visitor'' for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male an ...
as
Jonathan Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...
, the elder son of Saul and Ahinoam. *
Maisie Richardson-Sellers Maisie Richardson-Sellers is a British actress. She is known for her recurring role as Eva Sinclair on The CW series '' The Originals'', as well as her starring roles as King Saul of Israel's daughter Michal in the ABC Biblical series ''Of King ...
as Michal, the younger daughter of Saul and a Kushite concubine. *
Jeanine Mason Jeanine Marie Mason (born January 14, 1991) is an American actress and dancer. Her acting career began after winning the fifth season of the Fox television show ''So You Think You Can Dance''. She is best known for her role as Liz Ortecho in the ...
as Merav, the elder daughter of Saul and Ahinoam. *
Mohammad Bakri Mohammad Bakri (born 1953; ar, محمد بكري, he, מוחמד בכרי) is a Palestinian actor and film director.Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...
, the prophet of Israel. *David Walmsley as Yoab, the nephew of David. * Nathaniel Parker as
Achish Achish ( he, אָכִישׁ ''ʾāḵīš'', Philistine: 𐤀𐤊𐤉𐤔 *''ʾāḵayūš'', Akkadian: 𒄿𒅗𒌑𒋢 ''i-ka-ú-su'') is a name used in the Hebrew Bible for two Philistine rulers of Gath. It is perhaps only a general title of r ...
, the king of Philistine.


Recurring characters

*
Louis Talpe Louis Talpe (born 22 May 1981) is a Belgian actor. He is known for playing Toby on the Studio 100 show Mega Mindy and has appeared most recently as Eliab on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC-produced drama ''Of Kings and Prophets''. Caree ...
as Eliab, the eldest brother of David and soldier in Saul's army. *
Christina Chong Christina Chong (born 18 September 1983) is an English actress. She has appeared in several notable roles in film and television, including '' Monroe'', ''Line of Duty'', '' Halo: Nightfall'', ''Black Mirror'', ''Doctor Who'', and '' 24: Live An ...
as Rizpah, 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 Rowena in the Matter of Britain was the daughter of the purported Anglo-Saxon chief Hengist and wife of Vortigern, " King of the Britons". Presented as a beautiful '' femme fatale'', she won her people the Kingdom of Kent through her treachero ...
as Zaphra *
Lyne Renee Lyne may refer to: Places * Division of Lyne, an electoral division in New South Wales, Australia * Lyne, Denmark, a town in southwest Denmark * Lyne, Surrey a village in southern England * River Lyne, a river of Cumbria in England * Lyne, Scott ...
as Witch of Endor * 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's NE, Ne or ne may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Neutral Evil, an alignment in the American role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' * New Edition, an American vocal group * Nicomachean Ethics, a collection of ten books by Greek philosopher Ar ...
violent 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 ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
''. On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, 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 arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, 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 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 ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
''.


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 ''Beyond The Tank'' is an American reality television companion spin-off series on ABC, which followed up on aspiring entrepreneurs who made business presentations to a panel of potential investors on ''Shark Tank''. The show premiered on May 1, ...
'', 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