Tag: History (1-6 of 6)

Mar 6 2013 01:24 PM ET

Mark Burnett says 'weird things happened' on 'The Bible' set

the-bible

Image Credit: Lightworkers Media/Hearst Productions

Last Sunday, the first installment of History’s five-part miniseries The Bible beat everything on television with a massive 13.1 million viewers, making it cable’s most-watched entertainment telecast this year.

For producer Mark Burnett, who worked on the ten-hour special with wife Roma Downey, the success of The Bible isn’t all that surprising. “It will be, over the next 40 or 50 years, the most watched thing that Roma and I have ever made,” he told EW, quite confidently, back in January.

At the time, Burnett gushed about shooting the series. “I really believe what I’m going to tell you right now,” he said. “The hand of God was on this…. the edit came together perfectly, the actors came together perfectly, it just comes to life.” But Burnett wasn’t just speaking about how well the practicalities of production had gone. “Weird things happened during filming,” he said. “Everybody would look at each other like, “Whoa.”

Here are a few of the “weird things” he was talking about: READ FULL STORY »

Jan 17 2013 12:00 AM ET

History's 'Vikings': How to decode the show's logo

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Viewers first glimpsed the logo for History’s Vikings series — which is set to premiere early this year — in the exclusive trailer posted here on EW.com about a month ago. And there it is above, again, in all it’s glory. At second glance, it’s a rather complicated logo. What’s behind it? EW did a little investigating, and History spilled the details about what’s inside the design. Here’s what we learned.

READ FULL STORY »

Dec 19 2012 12:00 AM ET

The first trailer for History's 'Vikings' series is here! -- EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

HISTORY-VIKINGS

History scored earlier this year with a dramatic, mini-series retelling of the legendary drama between the dueling Hatfield and McCoy clans, and the cable network is once again dipping back into legend again with a new series Vikings, which will debut early next year. Following our first-look photo, EW has an exclusive sneak peek at the series — starring Gabriel Byrne, Travis Fimmel, Jessalyn Gilsig, Gustaf Skarsgard (yes, brother of Alexander and son of Stellan), Clive Standen, and Katheryn Winnick — via the debut trailer.

The 30-second promotional clip is a smorgasbord of beards, long hair, shields, weapons, and general savagery that — depending on how it all pans out in series format — looks like it could be quite the juicy, battle-filled dive into a long-gone world. In previous press releases, History calls the series — which is created and written by The Tudors creator Michael Hirst — “high on adventure, exploration, conflict, warfare, and bloodshed,” as well as a “family saga.” Specifically, the actions follows historical figure Ragnar Lothbrok (Fimmel) as he rises up the ranks to become King of the Viking tribes.

Promises the trailer: “A storm is coming.” Indeed. See for yourself here:

READ FULL STORY »

May 29 2012 03:56 PM ET

'Hatfields & McCoys' rustles up big-time ratings

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Image Credit: Kevin Lynch/The History Channel

Perhaps viewers were feeling the nostalgia on Memorial Day, or perhaps the onslaught of repeats and marathons created a hunger for original programming. Maybe the temptation of Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton’s bedraggled beards was too great. Whatever it was, the Monday kick-off to History’s Hatfields & McCoys was impressive. The miniseries was watched by 13.9 million viewers total, making it the No. 1 non-sports telecast in ad-supported cable television history.

As part of those ratings, the first night of the three-night event picked up 5.8 million viewers in the 25-54 demographic, and 4.8 million in the 18-49 range. In total, the debut airing and the same-night encore was seen by more than 17 million people. Said Nancy Dubuc, the network’s president and general manager, “With all the success we have had at History, we felt strongly for some time that we should own historical drama, and in true History fashion, we have done it, with — pardon the pun — guns ablazin’!”

Read more:
Ken Tucker’s ‘Hatfields & McCoys’ review
‘Hatfields & McCoys’: 5 things to expect from History’s miniseries
‘Hatfields & McCoys’ miniseries: See the Kevin Costner-Bill Paxton brawl! — EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

Mar 13 2012 04:05 PM ET

History orders first scripted series from 'Tudors' creator

Tags: ,

History Channel is throwing its hat (erm, viking helmet?) into the scripted television ring.

The network announced today it will begin production on Vikings, a period series that will air in 2013. The show, brought to the network from MGM, will be executive produced by Michael Hirst, the man behind Showtime’s The Tudors and Camelot.

“People think they know about the Vikings – we see references to them all the time in our popular culture from TV commercials to football teams – but the reality is so much more fascinating and complex, more vivid, visceral and powerful than popular legend,” said History president Nancy Dubuc in a statement. “We will explore the mysteries of the Vikings – the adventures they took and the people who led them.”

Vikings will chronicle the adventures of Ragnar Lothbrock, an actual Norse hero from the Viking Age, as he rises to head of the Viking tribes. It will be filmed in Ireland.

Feb 9 2011 11:59 AM ET

History channel, Ridley Scott team for Civil War movie -- EXCLUSIVE

Image Credit: Casey Crafford/History Channel

It’s like Shark Week with muskets.

History is set to announce a new annual programming event marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

Key to the plan is Gettysburg, a film commissioned by the network and produced by the Scott brothers — Ridley (Gladiator) and Tony (Man on Fire). The film promises to strip away the romanticized veneer of the war and present the engagement as “a visceral, terrifying experience” using reenactment footage and CGI, while focusing on the stories of soldiers on the ground.

History will fill the week with Civil War-themed episodes of shows like Pawn Stars, American Pickers, and other specials, including the two-hour Grant & Lee, a look at the two iconic generals of the war. In addition, the network is launching a four-year national education campaign on the subject. READ FULL STORY »

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