Every Thursday since Feb. 27, an episode of Amazon Original series “House of David” has been released, which has brought with it an interesting combination of a televised biblical adaptation mixed with PG-13 violence and political family drama. Since the arrival of this series on the “suggested for you” page of my Amazon Prime app, I have been tuning in loyally on Thursday evenings to watch Michael Isakander’s portrayal of the lyre-playing shepherd-turned-king whom we all know and love.
To me, it seems that this series is part of a new trend in television, namely, dramatized biblical adaptations, a genre that, although seemingly unlikely, has proved to be surprisingly lucrative and widely appealing. In fact, “House of David,” produced by independent studio The Wonder Project, reached as high as second for most watched series on Amazon for February and March and has already been renewed for a second season, prior to completion of the first season’s release.
This show has followed the success of Dallas Jenkins’ ongoing television show, “The Chosen,” which was first released in 2017 and tells the story of Jesus and his disciples from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Although the two shows were not made by the same creative teams, they have understandably not escaped comparison, and many fans of “The Chosen” have turned to “House of David” as their next biblically inspired drama series.
Even the show’s actors and creators have leaned into the comparison. In a video posted to The Wonder Project’s YouTube channel, Michael Iskander and Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus in “The Chosen,” have a 40-minute discussion on their respective experiences of playing biblical characters, and even speculated about a crossover episode of the two series.
However, these biblical adaptation series have not been without criticism—both “The Chosen” and “House of David” have faced similar complaints from viewers who see the dramatization of biblical stories as a dangerous practice. Just like biblical adaptations, this criticism is not new. Ever since people have adapted biblical stories into plays and operas, and later into television series and films, they have faced criticism for their biblically inaccurate retellings of stories. As is the case in any adaptation, things are often changed or added to the original source material to enhance the storytelling of the adapted material. However, when the source material is the Bible, people get a little bit touchy.
Because the Bible is a holy book and is believed by Christians to be the inspired word of God, changing the content of it for dramatic effect is looked down upon and even considered downright dangerous. “The Chosen,” although extremely popular among many Christian viewers, also received criticism for the creative liberties that were taken in telling the story of Jesus. Many opponents of biblical adaptation believe that television shows and films that depict biblical stories with inaccuracies will be misleading and confusing for those who have not read the Bible or are unfamiliar with the biblical stories being depicted. As one concerned reviewer wrote, “Because of ‘The Chosen,’ some people believe we know that St. Matthew was autistic and that St. Peter and his wife suffered a miscarriage.”
For those concerned with biblical inaccuracies and the potential dangers of biblical adaptation, “House of David” is not a reassuring presence. At the beginning of each episode, a disclaimer states that “... creative liberties have been taken for storytelling purposes.” And indeed, there have been many changes and additions to the story that one might find misleading.
For example, David’s killing of a lion (1 Samuel 17) is changed from a mere protection of David’s flock of sheep to an act of revenge on the very lion that killed his mother. Additionally, David is portrayed as an outcast because of his illegitimate birth status, which is not biblical. And perhaps most notably, the relationship between David and Michal, the woman who eventually became David’s first wife (1 Samuel 18), is developed into a classic forbidden romance plot between princess and shepherd, which did not happen in the Bible, as David was already Saul’s bodyguard and had military fame when Michal fell in love with him.
So, although the main story of David’s rise to power is maintained by the series, there are those who criticize it for misrepresenting scripture and being a dangerous way to try and promote the Bible. Those critics state that the series will be confusing and misleading to viewers who are not familiar with the biblical story of David and will teach them incorrect information about biblical characters, Christianity and God.
However, there is another way to look at the issue of accuracy in biblical adaptations. Although some suggest that biblical inaccuracies will lead people astray and prevent them from understanding scripture, it is also possible that biblical adaptations will lead more people to read the Bible, in order to compare the television series with the original text. Many critics of shows like “The Chosen” and “House of David” argue that shows like these may be the only opportunity someone has to engage with biblical stories and that the creative liberties that were taken will mislead them. However, access to the Bible or information about the Bible online means that viewers of the show who enjoy the show’s stories are able to read the source material for themselves and learn about the stories as they were told in the Bible. As someone who often watches film or television adaptations of books and then immediately logs on to ThriftBooks to buy and read a copy of the source material, I find it likely that many viewers will do the same when watching series based on the Bible.
It is also important to note that the creators of these shows are themselves Christian, and are making these shows to spread the word of God through a medium that is accessible and engaging. In an interview at Liberty University, Michael Iskander stated, “Essentially, the show for me, shouldn’t be called House of David. It should be called House of the Lord, House of God. David’s heart was for the Lord, and so that’s what I try to find in every scene and every moment, is where the Lord is, and where the Holy Spirit can be found.” The actors’ and creators’ devotion to sharing the character of God through every moment of the series is evidence that although the creators of shows like “The Chosen” and “The House of David” may change certain things, like interpreting Matthew as a way to include autistic representation in their show or changing David’s reason for killing the lion to make his victory more cinematic and more compelling, the character of God is not compromised in the process.
So, although biblical adaptations that take creative license can be seen as a danger to viewers’ understanding of biblical narratives and the character of God, they can also be seen as an opportunity to get more people interested in the Bible through a more popular media format. Regardless of which side of the argument you find yourself leaning, there is still one more episode of “House of David” to be released (and a second season to look forward to), so if you haven’t already, log on to your Amazon Prime (or borrow a friend’s account) and settle down to watch the first season of “House of David” to prepare yourself for the big finale.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.