Emmy-nominated Irish actress Actress and producer Roma Downey is gearing up to release a faith-based series titled "The Baxters," based on Karen Kingsbury's bestselling book series.
In a recent interview with The Christian Post, Downey shared how faith-based films and television shows tend to sugar-coat real issues, including addiction, pain, and loss.
"I think that projects in the past sugar coated over some of these issues, and we saw faith projects where somehow, people of faith didn't have problems like everybody else, and of course, we do," Downey, known for her role in Touched by an Angel, said.
"We're brought to our knees in more ways than one. It's just that when we're down there, we stop, and we pray, and we help each other back up in a myriad of ways, and I think it is important."
The Baxters, which will be released on Prime Video on March 28, follows Elizebeth and her husband, John (Ted McGinley), and their five adult children as they navigate through the challenges of life.
"I think audiences will relate to this family; they'll fall in love with this family," Downey said. "First of all, the actors are wonderful ... and the story plays out a little bit like a 'hope opera'… you think of soap operas and people binging them, but ours is a 'hope opera.' We're hoping that for the Easter season, which in the church is a great season of hope, [this show is] the essence of the season."
"If you get through it and you enjoy it, I encourage you, please, to let somebody else know that you enjoyed it; let somebody else know that it's there, share it with your community," she added. "This is how Touched by an Angel became a hit because people shared it through church. And so, I'm hoping the same will happen here with The Baxters."
When portraying her character, Elizabeth Baxter, Downey explained that she incorporated her own experiences as a parent.
"I came to it with a mother's heart," Downey said
"We see an Elizabeth Baxter as a very loving, compassionate, empathetic mom, a mother who fiercely loves her children," she said. "We see her being marvelously strong and ferocious, like a mother lion. But what I loved most about her is that she's a prayer warrior. When the going gets tough, the tough start praying. We really see how she jumps in, holding hands with her husband, and prays for the children that she might be worried about."
She also commended The Baxters for portraying a family that attends church, prays together, and supports each other through the trials of life.
"As a person of faith myself, I love to see when people of faith are celebrated on screen, and we don't get to see it that often," Downey said. "We don't get to see church-going families. We don't get to see family in the middle of a scene that can stop and pray in the name of Jesus. I think that audiences of faith around the country, indeed around the world, will enjoy seeing a family that holds the values that we hold dear to our hearts represented on the screen.
"That's not to say that people who don't share faith aren't welcome; of course, it's a show that's been made for everybody," she added. "But I think that we so rarely, as Christians, get to see a family and a family dynamic like this. I'm hoping that it will bring hope and that it will be a great reminder to people; it'll bring people home to Him."
Through her company, Lightworkers, the actress believes Hollywood is becoming more aware of faith-based and family series.
"We've been creating content in this space for a very long time, but I feel like it's really starting to get traction," she said. "It's a combination of people in positions of power at studios and networks who are really starting to understand that there's business here because nobody's running a hobby. And I don't know that anybody's totally missional about it, but it's like, regardless of why they're making it, it's being made, and it's being made well."
"I think in the past, we dutifully showed up because we felt like we had to support projects like that, but now we're showing up because they're really good, the stories are good, and the quality is good. Just because it's a faith project doesn't give you an excuse to make a poor-quality show. Christian audiences are sophisticated audiences, and they expect quality content. So I think we're seeing that. It's been thrilling to see so many successful movies."
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Chad Hurst/Stringer
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.