For years, movies have held sway in the faith-based genre, comprising nearly every corner of that unique universe, whether in the theatrical or home video realm. But a string of new faith-based television series are helping to redefine the field.
The latest faith-based TV series is County Rescue, the first episode of which launches on Great American Pure Flix February 23 and Great American Family February 26 and follows the story of EMT trainees who are competing for one job opening. It stars Brett Varvel and Julia Reilly.
County Rescue is but the latest faith-centric TV series in a field that is, historically, dominated by theatrical and streaming dramatic movies. Another faith-focused series, Going Home, is entering its second season on Great American Pure Flix. Other recent ones include Saved by Grace, A Thousand Tomorrows and Live + Local.
Shawn Boskie, a producer of County Rescue and the CEO of Canyon Productions (Divine Influencer, Redeeming Love, Heaven Sent), said TV series are a natural fit for family-focused streaming platforms such as Great American Pure Flix.
“I think they're trying to tune into what audiences want,” Boskie told Christian Headlines.
Creator and director Brian Baugh (Finding You, The World We Make, I'm Not Ashamed), said the television format allows writers to be more creative.
“I had never done much work in the TV world,” he told Christian Headlines. “So I was really excited to experiment with that medium. And it has really been delightful to just have these more open-ended story arcs and not have to close everything up. And then also to be able to creatively create cliffhangers and then go more in depth into characters, which is what TV offers you, which is really fantastic.”
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The series depicts God at work in the day-to-day lives of EMTs, Boskie said.
“I really care about seeing how God is in the story,” he said. “And that's the life that we live -- we don't walk around telling everybody about Jesus at every moment. But the Lord does influence our life profoundly. So I was excited to see a series come together where the characters were integrating their faith. The format is just built for some adventure and some adversity.”
He added, “I think the audience will enjoy it.”
Photo credit: GreatAmericanFamily/County Rescue
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
