CNN Planning Jesus Television Series and Other Documentaries

CNN presented a new prime time lineup to its advertisers Thursday in New York City to replace the times slot for Piers Morgan, with multiple new documentary series, including one about Jesus, being previewed.

Titled The Jesus Code, the series will provide viewers with a “forensic and archaeological journey through the Bible.” Religious programming has been on the rise in popularity ever since The Bible miniseries aired on the History Channel last year with high ratings. This new show will “will take viewers on a thrilling high-stakes journey through forensics, biblical archeology and forgery in history, exploring the evidence of Jesus’ existence by questioning the authenticity of sacred relics.”

In addition, CNN will be bring on Mike Rowe, the former host of The Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs, to head Somebody’s Got To Do It. The program will bring “viewers face to face with men and women who march to the beat of a different drum” and honor these “innovators, do-gooders, entrepreneurs, collectors [and] fanatics.”

In another show, journal and author Lisa Ling will “[take] her audience on a gritty, breathtaking journey to far corners of America, immersing herself in sub-cultures that are unusual, bizarre and sometimes dangerous.” The network has also ordered episodes of The Hunt With John Walsh, which “will tell stories of ongoing international criminal investigations in which the suspect is a fugitive at large.”