The follow-up to this spring's hugely successful 10-part TV miniseries of major Bible stories will be broadcast on NBC. The network said Monday it was teaming with producer Mark Burnett (The Voice, Celebrity Apprentice) for A.D.: Beyond the Bible (working title), the Los Angeles Times reported. The broadcast date has not been announced.

"NBC is thrilled to bring this highly anticipated sequel to Mark and Roma's The Bible to network television," said Jennifer Salke, the network's president of entertainment. "There was huge interest in this project within the television community, and NBC is gratified by Mark's confidence in our ability to partner with him and position this miniseries as true event television."

Creator of Survivor, Burnett and his actress wife, Roma Downey, of Touched by an Angel fame, produced The Bible, which aired for five Sundays in March on the History Channel—culminating on Easter Sunday—was viewed by 95 million cumulative viewers.

Released on DVD and Blu-ray April 2 by Twentieth Century Fox (Provident Distribution), The Bible has become the top-selling miniseries of all time, having sold more than 1 million units in the past three months, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Burnett had been in talks with History, which is owned by the A&E Television Networks, about bringing the sequel there, but NBC offered a larger paycheck, the Times reported.

"Our new series, A.D.: Beyond the Bible, is another massive project and a major commitment, but it's a story that has to be told," said Burnett and Downey. "It's a story that changed the world. We look forward to making this an enormous television event on NBC."

A.D: Beyond the Bible will follow the period after Jesus' death and the ensuing unrest in the Holy Land.

"I followed the development process of The Bible closely with Mark and knew that the story was far from over after Christ's crucifixion," NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt said. "In fact, what happened in the aftermath, which is essentially the beginning of Christianity, is utterly fascinating.

"The day after The Bible premiered, I told Mark we were on board with no hesitation for the follow-up miniseries," Greenblatt added. "This will be attention-getting in every way, and we're proud to continue our association with Mark, which has just grown exponentially from The Voice."

The new miniseries will be executive-produced by Downey, Burnett and Richard Bedser. Burnett is also recutting the Jesus part of The Bible miniseries into a feature.

Burnett said that he and Downey could possibly distribute Bible-related programming for the next 10 years, The Hollywood Reporter stated.

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