Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Religious Music & Entertainment
Netflix’s ‘Messiah’: ‘The Path’ Star Michelle Monaghan Joins Roma Downey and Mark Burnett’s Religious Drama

Netflix’s ‘Messiah’: ‘The Path’ Star Michelle Monaghan Joins Roma Downey and Mark Burnett’s Religious Drama

Last updated on: May 7, 2018 at 3:57 pm by Kate O'Hare

Netflix’s ‘Messiah’: ‘The Path’ Star Michelle Monaghan Joins Roma Downey and Mark Burnett’s Religious Drama 2018-05-07T15:57:26-08:00 Kate O'Hare

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Michelle Monaghan said she was raised Catholic but currently is in the spiritual-but-not-religious camp. But that hasn’t stopped her from hopping from one streaming-service project exploring faith to another.

Her Hulu series “The Path,” in which she played one of the leaders of a fictional New Age cult, was just canceled after three seasons. Regarding the show, Monaghan told Interview Magazine:

I wrote about my own experience with my own faith. I grew up Catholic. I’m not religious now but I would say that I’m a very spiritual person and you’re always in search of answers. I really wanted to understand someone that could be so devout, so convicted and come from a place of complete and utter faith, that they would, no matter what, choose their faith over their family.

Now Monaghan has hopped from Hulu to Netflix, as the female lead in “Messiah,” created by Michael Petroni, which is set to premiere in 2019. Among its executive producers are the husband-and-wife team of Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, who have been tackling subjects of faith in “The Bible,” “Son of God,” “A.D.: The Bible Continues” and a remake of “Ben-Hur.”

Described as a 21st-Century political thriller, “Messiah” stars Mehdi Dehbi — born in Belgium to a family of Tunisian descent — as Al-Masih, a man who emerges from the Middle East claiming to have been sent by God and begins to garner followers.

From Deadline.com:

Is he what they say he is or is he a dangerous fraud bent on dismantling the world’s geopolitical order, causing civil havoc as he beguiles the world’s media and its audience? At its core, Messiah is a series that challenges us to examine what we believe and who we are.

Monaghan will play Eva Geller, a highly specialized US intelligence officer who pits her wits and years of experience against Al-Masih (Dehbi) – an incendiary religious-political figure emerging out of Syria whose influence is growing. Whip smart, tenacious and determined to prove she is right, Eva literally goes to the ends of the earth to prosecute this allusive figure while running headlong into the truth about her own moral convictions.

Petroni, Burnett and Downey executive produce with James McTeigue, and Andrew Deane.

Australian McTiegue made his directing debut with “V for Vendetta” and worked on the provocative Netflix science-fiction series “Sense8,” both of which paired him with the writer/producer transgender Wachowski siblings. He’s set to direct “Messiah.”

Creator Petroni also wrote the World War II drama “The Book Thief,” the Anthony Hopkins exorcism drama “The Rite,” and “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” With Richard Hatem, he also created the 2003 ABC series “Miracles,” starring Skeet Ulrich as a man who investigates possibly supernatural occurrences.

So, Petroni seems to have a background in faith-related and even Catholic subjects, so we’ll have to see what angle he takes in “Messiah” — which is starting out with a pretty bold title. But, then, Netflix and other streaming services prefer high-concept, controversial material to break through the clutter.

Interestingly, in a recent speech at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, Burnett didn’t seem all that fond of working with Netflix.

From Deadline.com:

“Netflix is less attractive to me,” MGM TV and Digital Group president Mark Burnettsaid today at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills. “I want to own my IP around the world,” he added, touting his preference for overseas sales and franchising as opposed to a single worldwide license fee like the one offered by the Reed Hastings-run streaming service.

…

“I have paid for Netflix for a decade but I have no relationship with them emotionally as a customer,” Burnett said, pondering what kind of connection content creators can have with consumers in a fast-changing marketplace. “In the future, how do you get that relationship with customers? The closest example in our world is Amazon, I guess.”

Will “Messiah” convince Burnett that Netflix is the promised land? Stay tuned.

Images: Wikimedia Commons

Don’t miss a thing: head over to my other home, as Social Media Manager at Family Theater Productions; and check out FTP’s Faith & Family Media Blog, and our YouTube Channel

Michelle Monaghan. Mehdi Dehbi

Previous Post

May 1, 2018

Seahawks Rookie Shaquem Griffin: 1 Team, 2 Brothers, 3 Hands

Next Post

May 8, 2018 The Met Gala and Catholic Beauty: Appropriation Without Understanding [UPDATED]

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books breaking news digital media Faith practice food interview jane the virgin media movies music NFL Pope Francis Showbiz 101 social media sports technology television Uncategorized video

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz