For some viewers, a seasonal search is beginning:
Surely, the vast TV landscape must have some Easter-type shows.
It does, but only a few are in familiar places. ABC had its annual “Ten Commandments”(shown here) on Saturday (April 1) … A week later, History reruns its “The Bible” mini-series, re-rerunning the last two chapters shortly before Easter sunrise services … And on April 8 and 9, BET has a big-deal gospel concert.
Beyond that, however, viewers may have to discover less-familiar spots. There’s UpTV (on cable or streaming), plus some digital-only channels.
Most years, Turner Classic Movies is a key part, with religious epics and then the “Easter Parade” movie. This year, however, the channel devogtes April to the 100th anniversary of Warner Brothers. To find the usual films, viewers will have to search the TCM wing of HBO Max.
Here’s a sampling of what’s on TV through Easter, on April 9.
Music
— “Gospel Superfest Easter Special,” 8 p.m., April 8 on BET, repeating at 5 p.m. April 9. It includes Donnie McClurkin, Ricky Dillard & New G, Leandria Johnson, J. Moss, Isabel Davis and more.
TV mini-series
— “The Chosen” is a crowd-funded drama series, focusing on the live of Jesus. The second season, culminating with his mountain-top sermon, debuted from 2-11 p.m. ET Sunday (April 2) on UpTV. Then both seasons rerun on Friday (April 7); the first starts at 6 a.m., the second is from 1:30 tp 9 p.m.
— “The Bible” is the History Channel’s 2013 epic. On Saturday (April 8), it runs from 2 p.m. to midnight, then reruns the final two, Easter-oriented chapters until 4 a.m.
— “Jesus of Nazareth” is Franco Zeffirelli’s 1977 epic. It’s from noon to 8 p.m. April 9 on the Movies digital channel.
Movies
— “The Ten Commandments” (1956) is a Cecil B. DeMille epic, with Charlton Heston as Moses. ABC aired it from 7-11:44 p.m. April 1; also, UpTV has it at from 3-7 p.m. ET April 8.
— “The Passion of the Christ” (2004), is the film directed by Mel Gibson, focusing on the final 12 hours of Jesus’ life. It airs at 9 and 11 p.m. ET April 7 on UpTV.
— “Mary, Mother of Jesus” (1999) has Pernilla Auguast in the title role, with Christian Bale as Jesus. It’s latenight (1 a.m. ET) April 7 on UpTV, then 7 p.m. Aug. 8.
— Turner Classic Movies has some older films on April 9. There’s “One Foot in Heaven” (1941) at 11:30 a.m. ET, “The Miracle of Lady Fatima” (1952) at 1:30 p.m., and Audrey Hepburn in “The Nun’s Story” (1959) at 3:15 p.m. Then it wraps up with a whimsical touch at 6 with “Oh, God” (1977), a comedy that drew an Oscar nomination for its script.
— UpTV premieres “Southern Gospel” at 7 p.m. ET April 9. The film has a troubled rock star returning to his old goal of being a preacher.
RELATED FILMS:
— Lifetime continues its “Seven Deadly Sins” movies, produced by mega-church pastor T.D. Jakes. “Pride” debuts at 8 p.m. April 8, then reruns at midnight and at 10 p.m. April 9; also rerunning April 8 are “Wrath,” 2 p.m.; “Greed,” 4; “Lust,” 6; and “Envy.” 10.
— Also on April 9, Lifetime has “The Shack” (2017) at 5 p.m. At 8, it debuts “Giving Hope,” the story of author Ni’Cola Mitchell, who started a reading club for girls.
— On April 9, UpTV precedes “Southern Gospel” with several feel-good films — “The Song to My Heart” (2022), 10:30 a.m. ET; “Faith, Hope and Love” (2019), 12:30 p.m.; “A Very Country Wedding” (2019), 2:30 p.m.; and “God Bless the Broken Road” (2018), 4:30 p.m.
AND TRY
— Streaming services, including the TCM branch of HBO Max.
— Digital-only channels, which usually appear on sub-channels of broadcast stations. The Movies channel has “The Robe” (1953) at 8 p.m. April 8 and “Jesus of Nazareth” at noon on April 9. Also, Story TV has biblical biographies on April 9.
— Also, various services and clergymen air early in the morning on many channels and throughout the day on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.