The success of Amazon Prime’s biblical Drama series The Chosen, as well as box office success for the recent animated hit movie The King of Kings, telling the story of Jesus Christ, reflects a wider and growing industry trend that has seen notable increases in both the commissioning and acquisition of faith-based content. 

Several global streamers have exhibited a marked increase in the availability of such content on their platforms throughout 2024. Netflix, Hulu and Max each grew their amount of faith-based content around four times more than their overall increase in title availability. Amazon, however, saw unprecedented growth in the amount of faith-based titles available on their service in 2024 with a 204% increase compared to a 100% overall upward change in content.

Religious content added to Amazon Prime Video in 2024 includes not just blockbuster hit The Chosen (with future seasons to be released theatrically by Amazon MGM Studios) but modern family dramas such as The Baxters, made by Amazon MGM-owned Christian production company, Lightworkers Media. 

Overall, the volume of faith-based commissions increased steadily between 2021 and 2024. This growth was most pronounced in commissions from commercial free-to-air (FTA) commissioners, who announced 29% more faith-based titles in H2 2024 than in the same half of the previous year. However, most faith-based titles announced in the period were commissioned by Public Broadcasters (40%). 

Most of the faith-based commissions announced between 2021 and 2024 were either Documentaries or Entertainment titles (68%). This reflects a wider trend in the increase of True Crime Documentaries, as some (17%) of the faith titles included in this sample will be Documentaries about Christian cults. Entertainment titles are more likely to be talk shows about faith (like Big Talk from Amazon and the long-running 700 Club from CBN), or live religious events (such as Ten’s Mass for You at Home). 

Over half of faith-based commissions hailed from Western Europe (53%), where the focus was largely on Unscripted titles (86%), where Documentary and Entertainment titles represented 42% and 41% of all faith-themed titles respectively. 

All these examples reflect a growing and sustained interest in religious and spiritual content within the TV industry. The popularity of True Crime Documentaries about religious cults and the success of faith-based talk shows and live events suggest that broadcasters are tapping into viewer curiosity about faith and spirituality while adapting to broader trends in the Unscripted market. Streaming services, likewise, have increased the amount of faith-based content they can offer subscribers to meet their spiritual interests. With a growing lean towards conservatism and Christian moralism especially in Western countries like the USA, Commissioners will continue to meet the demand for faith-based content with both original and acquisition-based strategy