Got 10 Hours? The Bible Coming to History Channel

Making a complete 180 in the moral leanings of his work, Survivor producer Mark Burnett will next be telling epic Scripture stories. The reality TV king and his wife, actress Roma Downey, are producing 10-part docudrama The Bible for the History Channel. Set to air in 2013, the series will combine live action with computer-generated imagery to retell stories ranging from Noah and the Ark to Exodus to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Shooting is planned for the Middle East and elsewhere.

As a kid in the 1960s, Burnett was thrilled by the special-effects miracle of a sundered Red Sea in Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments. Burnett says he and Downey (who starred in a different look at faith, the fantasy series Touched by an Angel) have been working on the project for two years, but says they're not on a mission: "Our job is to tell the stories in an emotionally connected way."The Bible is among the History Channel's biggest ventures, but the president also declined to detail the exact budget. (More History Channel stories.)