Hollywood, its seems, has gotten the message. It’s safe and profitable to promote religious values again.

Outlets like Hallmark, Great American Family, and BYUtv have always stressed squeaky-clean family programming. But most networks have been largely quiet on the family and spiritual front, preferring sappy sitcoms and action thrillers.

All that may be changing with the introduction of shows like the Fox series, “The Faithful: Women of the Bible,” premiering March 22 and airing over three consecutive Sundays ending on Easter, April 5.

Celebrating the Passover and Easter season, the limited series is based on the Old Testament’s Book of Genesis and is told through the eyes of the women whose descendants would help establish three of the world’s most influential religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Minnie Driver leads the cast as Sarah, Jeffrey Donovan plays Abraham and Natacha Karam is Sarah’s servant, Hagar.

Sarah’s great-niece Rebekah is played by Alexa Davalos. Sisters Leah and Rachel are portrayed by Millie Brady and Blu Hunt respectively.

Producer Carol Mendelsohn, who’s famous in TV Land for her work on all the “CSI” programs, “Melrose Place,” “Wiseguy” and “Stingray,” changes her métier with “Women of the Bible.”

“’The Faithful’ is a passion project for me and my partners, Julie Weitz and Rene Echevarria,” she says.

“We were inspired to tell our stories through the lens of the extraordinary women at the center — women whose names are known, but whose inner lives have rarely been explored. Each of us brought a unique perspective: Christian insight, Jewish foundation, and a secular voice,” she says.

It’s been almost 50 years since Franco Zeffirelli’s reverent “Jesus of Nazareth” swam in the mainstream though there have been some attempts to match its efforts. But viewing began to change with the unexpected triumph of the TV series, “The Chosen.”

Starring a relatively unknown cast, the show examines Jesus’s life and the multi-dimensional people around him — from the apostles to the Roman soldiers to the ordinary citizens who were drawn to him.

The first season was crowdfunded, making it the most successful crowdfunded TV series ever. Seasons 3 and 4 premiered in movie theaters before being released to various streaming platforms. It’s estimated that 280 million people worldwide have seen the series. And there’s more to come. The final two seasons will deal with the crucifixion in Season 6 and the resurrection in the series’ finale.

In another spiritual undertaking, Nicolas Cage stars in “The Carpenter’s Son,” a movie available for rent on Plex, Prime Video and Apple TV.

Cage plays Joseph, FKA Twigs is Mary, and Noah Jupe portrays their teenage son, Jesus. Though the family has lived under constant psychic fear, it does not veer from its faith and traditions in spite of the threat. While the film was drubbed by the critics for its “horror” underpinnings, “The Carpenter’s Son” is a new (and possibly heretical) take on the early years of Jesus.

“Ruth & Boaz,” streaming on Netflix, is a modern telling of the biblical love story from Tyler Perry and DeVon Franklin. Their partnership anticipates the new affinity for value-based entertainment as the Franklin and Tyler Perry Studios’ have joined Netflix in a far-reaching enterprise which will produce faith-based films.

And the battle between David and Goliath isn’t forgotten. Season 2 of “The House of David” lands on Prime Video March 27. The series continues after David has trounced the giant Goliath and is transformed from lowly shepherd to a valiant warrior.

Michael Iskander plays David with the versatile Stephen Lang as the prophet Samuel and Ali Suliman as Saul, Israel’s first king.

Animation has not escaped the trend either. All 14 episodes of “The Chosen Adventures” is streaming on Prime Video. The 11-minute shorts follow the explorations of 9-year-old Abby and her pal, Joshua, in the forgotten city of Capernaum. Their encounter with Jesus of Nazareth proves providential for the pair. Thirteen-year-old Romy Fay stars as Abby, Jude Zarzaur plays Joshua and Danny Nucci portrays Abba.

Filming is completed in New Mexico for the upcoming “Joseph of Egypt,” the tale from the Old Testament about the man who rose to power second only to the Pharoah. Adam Hashmi stars as Joseph.

Streaming through Easter, Great American Pure Flix will feature a collection of faith-based flicks, including “The Blind,” “The Girl Who Believes in Miracles,” “Learning to Love” and “God’s Not Dead.”

The original film, “Blessings in Disguise,” starring Shae Robins and Casey Elliott will premiere on Great American Pure Flix March 27 and air on Great American Family and GFAM+ on March 28.

Think there’s no connection between baseball and the great Beyond? Think again. “Baseball: Beyond Belief” is a pious film by John Scheinfeld which hits theaters on March 27.

Based on the bestseller, “Baseball as a Road to God” by John Seton, the film explores the similarities between the two: blessings and curses, faith and doubt, saints and sinners. (you know the bit.) And, say no more, the doc is narrated by Joe Mantegna.

Murdoch back on the beat

It’s hard to believe that a series could last 19 seasons. But for that we’d have to blame Canada where “Murdoch Mysteries” originates. Acorn TV brought back the intrepid detective, William Murdoch, earlier this month. Alas, his wife, played by Helene Joy, will not be joining him in his expert dealings with crime at the turn of the century.

Yannick Bisson plays Murdoch and tells me, “I sort of jumped in and out of show business. I like to say I’ve had three different careers because I haven’t always looked my age. So I’ve had to wait things out a few different times till I started to look the right age again.

" I started doing a couple of commercials as a teenager, pounding the streets when I was about 13. It interested me, and then I got a dramatic role at 14 and sort of been working off and on ever since,” he says.

“It was tough with my education. Back then there were no sort of checks and balances in place to protect kids, so my education fell by the wayside. I kept going back to high school, and l kept getting movies. And I’d have to travel to wherever — Europe or the West Coast, and that sort of thing. And the teachers just wouldn’t work with you, so that was a bit of a problem.

Then the producers weren’t hiring set-teachers, so it was a different time. So by the time I was a junior in high school, I was making more than my farther had ever made and was working a lot, so I just basically dropped out.”

English actor plays crime boss

It’s interesting to find English actor Sean Bean starring as a crime boss in the new AMC+ series, This City Is Ours: A Crime Family Saga.” Airing on Thursday nights, the show follows Bean as the Capo who decides to step back from his notorious career triggering a battle for the empty throne.

Bean tells me he was late deciding to become an actor. “I was 19, 20. I was just doing a lot of stuff. I was working for my father in the steel works in Sheffield for about three years but at the same time, I was quite good at school at painting and drawing and wanted to be an artist really.

“That’s what I wanted to be originally. I actually sold a few pieces when I was trying to do it. But it was hard. I was in Sheffield, and it wasn’t really the place to try to start as an artist. I was interested in many other things and stumbled across acting,” he says.

“I went to art college and took a drama course on the side and stumbled into it through that. I asked if I could switch to acting. And I did and felt very comfortable. I felt as though I encompassed everything that was going on in my head and this sort of centralized it.”

Top chefs vie for big bucks

Padma Lakshmi is producing and hosting the latest cooking competition CBS’ “America’s Culinary Cup.” Here topnotch chefs compete with each other to create the finest tiramisu cookie, caviar casserole or truffle torte. One wonders why chefs would want to forsake their kitchens to be in a TV show. Well, the winner of the competition snatches a cool $1 million. Lakshmi says she didn’t compromise when it came to recruiting chefs. “We really wanted the most lauded, top, elite chefs across the country,” she says.

“We of course wanted to have people from all backgrounds, but the thing that they all share is what high-level chefs they are. They all have a Bocuse d’Or medal, which is the biggest Olympic international competition that takes place in France. You know, there's two of them that are Bocuse d’Or medalists. There are 14 James Beard nominees, two winners. There's a bunch of them that have Michelin stars. So I was just looking to find the best, best and brightest chefs.”

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