THE OFFICE Meets Moses in New Mockumentary-Style Show
By Movieguide® Contributor
New show THE PROMISED LAND will tell the story of Moses — with a “mockumentary” twist.
“THE PROMISED LAND is a comedy TV series that offers the story of Exodus through a new lens: mockumentary,” the show’s website reads. “In the style of THE OFFICE and ABBOTT ELEMENTARY, we’ll give you the inside take on how Moses and his family really feel about their journey across the desert.”
The show was written and directed by Mitch Hudson, who worked on THE CHOSEN as a “second, second assistant director,” and takes a humorous approach to the lives of Moses and his followers.
“At first, I was kind of like, how does this even work? What kind of funny is it? Monty Python funny, where it’s a bit more of a lampoon, a bit more critical?” Hudson told Church Leaders about being approached to be part of the project. “I wasn’t super comfortable with that.”
He continued, “But then I was looking at it, and I was like, you know, the story of Moses has a lot of irony, and irony, a lot of times, is the basis for humor. I rediscovered the story in Exodus 18, where Jethro comes to Moses and basically says, you’re doing this all wrong. I was like, man, a father-in-law coming in to visit — this could be pretty funny. We can relate to a father-in-law who’s got different ideas of how to run things. So I wrote a pilot, and a plan for a whole series.”
Hudson said that he has “the Bible open” while he writes, adding, “I want to make sure that we were all as authentic as possible, and part of that is finding what moments allow for jokes, and what moments I need to take seriously, because they’re serious to the characters.”
He also shared that the cast and crew of THE CHOSEN have been a big help in getting THE PROMISED LAND off the ground, from appearing in episodes to renting their costumes and props to THE PROMISED LAND.
Hudson said he sees the target audience as “predominantly millennials and Gen Z” and wants viewers to think, “Man, I should reread these stories” after watching it.
“I hope there’s that, but I also hope, truly, that it’s just a fun and entertaining show they will enjoy watching over again,” he said.
A statement from THE PROMISED LAND’s showrunners echoes Hudson’s feelings, saying, “Rather than looking at these Biblical heroes on stained glass windows, let’s look at them like everyday people. At the end of the day, our hope is that people watch the show because it’s funny…and eventually would desire to dive into scripture to experience God personally.”
The first episode of THE PROMISED LAND is now available to watch on YouTube.
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