"It’s 600 years before the coming of Christ… Amidst the Neo-Babylonian siege of Ancient Jerusalem, two Judahite families band together in faith as they seek the fulfillment of God’s promises to the House of Jacob." So goes the logline for The Promised, a TV series in development based on the story of Lehi's family found in the Book of Mormon. Note: The Book of Mormon is considered a volume of additional scripture akin to the Bible by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church).
In an interview with Ward Radio, series creator Ashley Troncoso shared that The Promised started as a book she wrote "about five years ago" that she hoped others would turn into a series. Eventually, Troncoso realized that, despite not having film experience, she would have to take the lead on making her dream a reality. "so I just started emailing and making contacts and making a fool out of myself and screwing up and doing a lot of weird stuff and it's brought us here!" she told Ward Radio.
Tronsco now has a team of industry professionals working on The Promised including co-writer Alex Whiting and line producer Ethan Kartchner who joined her to give Ward Radio News a preview of what audiences can expect from this exciting new series.
"Season one is kind of a prequel to the Book of Mormon, the end of the last scene of the last episode is Lehi's family leaving Jerusalem," Troncoso explained. Much like the hit TV series The Chosen, The Promised will expand on the stories from its source text while maintaining historical accuracy. Having worked on The Chosen, co-writer Alex Whiting is familiar with the benefits of this approach, "the Church is bound to scripture so when they're doing [the Church's Book of Mormon videos] they're basically only speaking scripture. We aren't bound to that so we can really start to explore... what sort of context could be going on around [the Book of Mormon stories] that would be interesting to people that we can all relate to." He explained one of the major backstories they will explore is Laman, "he wasn't inherently bad, he was the eldest son of a prophet and a merchant. There's so much that you can play with there with a family of influence essentially shedding their riches and running off into the desert because of a religious zealot father. From [Laman's perspective] it's a fascinating story."
Unlike The Chosen, The Promised is not telling a story that is widely known and beloved worldwide. This challenge shapes how The Promised aims to make and market the show, "we want the production quality to be very high," line producer Ethan Kartchner explained. He pointed out that past independent Book of Mormon stories have been attempted, but have not delivered the good story and production quality needed to succeed. "So we really need to start from ground zero," he explained. "Our current thought is that we are going to raise the money to produce one episode... and build a fan base." This will bring excitement and investment for a full high-quality season to be made. The first episode is scheduled for release in November 2027. A script reading is scheduled for May 30th in Provo, UT. It is open to the public and refreshments will be provided.
The series is being marketed as a "Bible story with Book of Mormon characters" that will appeal to people of all faiths. Troncoso stressed that she does not want the series to be "too preachy" and "in your face" with evangelizing. "I wouldn't say my main goal is for people to watch the show and get baptized. What I want is for people to watch the show and find themselves in scripture and see how God could work in their life just like he did with these people."
To learn more about or donate to The Promised, visit https://www.thepromisedtvseries.com/
Ward Radio News is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church) and does not officially represent the Church. The views expressed by contributors do not necessarily represent the position of Ward Radio News
There is a lack of interest in the church to learn Joseph Smith's teachings about the Revelation beast 666 which is a major issue in in Christianity. LDS people don't even know Joseph in a general conference revealed exactly what the beast anti Christ is. Maybe it's time we study a subject the prophet revealed in a general conference before died? Link utube video titled
.( BOA ep 16 ) Type this in on utube to get there. Or live your life not knowing what Joseph clearly taught. (BOA ep 16)
I’m so excited to see this unfold! It’s truly being created by the best people! So it’s sure to be amazing!
I’ve known Ashley for so long and her testimony has always been so strong! Talk about a woman of faith and action. I am so proud of her and can’t wait for this new series!
Ever since I watched The Chosen, I've wanted something like this to come about. Thank you for taking the courage to make it happen. I believe this will really help spread the gospel and bring people to Christ. So excited to watch it! God bless!
I liked the trailer/preview, and so am hopeful that this can turn out well. I thought the acting was good and I loved the way you showed Lehi and Jeremiah as being close friends and Lehi's reluctance to leave and Jeremiah's support. I think the series shows definite promise for the part of the story that takes place in the Old World. However, once it gets to the New World, I have some concerns. I would advise the following: 1) I'm sure you are keenly aware that there are 2 main geographical models currently in favor amongst members, the Mesoamerican model and the Heartland model. Though I am in favor of the Mesoamerican model, I realize that if you strongl…