A Review Of New Show “The Promised Land”

In a collaboration with the media group behind “The Chosen,” “God’s Not Dead” and “The Blind,” scripture meets mockumentary cinema in Studio 523 and Collide’s newest Christian series, “The Promised Land.”  

Inspired by Ricky Gervais’ series, “The Office,” “The Promised Land” follows the story of Moses and the Israelites after their escape from Egyptian captivity. For many, the show is simply a unique take on Exodus, but for writer and director Mitch Hudson, the show represents the culmination of everything he has worked toward.  

“So many biblical stories focus on a section of a person’s life. … It’s kind of like a snapshot of this is what happens, and then we move on to the next story,” Hudson said. “But with Moses and the Israelites, it’s fun because there is a clear goal of ‘we need to get to the Promised Land.’” 

The idea for the show came from Liberty University alumna Syndey Jarm, who produced a similar production as her thesis film. Producer and Liberty alumnus Jeremy Crouch saw Jarm’s thesis film and contacted Hudson in hopes of making her thesis into a TV show.  

“He came to me with the idea in the summer or fall of 2021,” Hudson said. “We were going to make a new pilot with a fresh start with that concept. … It was basically a workplace sitcom, but the workplace is leading the people of Israel, and the coworkers in this space are Moses’ family members.”  

Through rereading Exodus and understanding the dynamic film style they were aiming for, Hudson began to write.  

“We have so much to work with,” Hudson said. “It really lends into — What does it look like in the daily lives of these characters? … They didn’t part the Red Sea every day.” 

Hudson and his crew studied the Bible to recreate the daily rituals and laws of the Israelites. 

“With any adaptation, you are going to have to color in some of the spaces where we don’t have information,” Hudson said. “You’re never going to hear about every single day in these characters’ lives. … For us, it’s super important that we are getting this right, and it’s very important to me that we are staying as true to the Bible as we can, because that is where we will find the most truth in the depiction of these characters.” 

Hudson said that the show’s motto is to be “reverent of the scriptures but irreverent of people.” 

“We want to make sure God is still God, but we also want to make sure people are still people,” Hudson said.  

Hudson said the second episode will follow the Israelites’ journey to Mount Sinai and the challenges Moses, Aaron and Miriam will face there. 

As a 2015 Liberty alumnus, Hudson felt that Liberty prepared him technically and spiritually for his role as the director and writer of the show. 

“When I started the film program, I was just a blank slate of knowledge,” Hudson said. “… What’s nice about (Cinematic Arts) programs is (that) it’s not just what you learn in the classroom. It’s also what you learn with other students.” 

The encouragement Hudson received from his classmates continued to propel him into the industry.  

“When I graduated from Liberty, I felt like I had more confidence in my writing ability, in my directing ability,” Hudson said. “It’s small things. My senior film project won a couple of awards, and my classmates were also encouraging. … By the time I graduated, I really had that in my head … to be better than the last thing I did.”  

Right out of college, Hudson collaborated with other Liberty students to produce a feature film called “Technicolor Daydream,” where Hudson got his first taste for writing and directing outside a classroom context.  

“I don’t think there was a single member of our crew that was older than 25,” Hudson said. “We were all just really young and hungry.”   

But following this, Hudson struggled to find the next step for his career.  

“I ended up going back (to Liberty) and getting my master’s in business marketing,” Hudson said. “And in the meantime, I was trying to find work wherever I could as a crew member.” 

While earning his second degree, Hudson sought job after job to stay connected to the film industry. 

“My goal was to get a job as an assistant director,” Hudson said. “I kind of did anything. I took any job that would pay and that seemed like a good opportunity with legitimate filmmakers.  

A year later, Hudson was offered a crew job at Liberty alongside other Cinematic Arts students to create a film called “Extraordinary.” However, Hudson’s career didn’t take off until the producer of that film, Justin Tolley, hired him as an accountant for “Run the Race.”  

“I slowly started hopping my way from one job to the next,” Hudson said. “They weren’t all my ideal job, … and so I did a couple of films with him after that working in the production office of different movies.”  

In 2017, Hudson was hired for another faith-based film called “Indivisible” where he met Adam Drake, the assistant director of the film, who led Hudson to “The Chosen,” where he became the assistant director for seven years. 

“It really takes a lot of willing(ness) to work hard,” Hudson said. “The film industry is very small, and everyone knows each other. … The people that tend to go far are the ones who are reliable and work hard.”  

Stream the pilot episode of “The Promised Land” on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSI04-1oLwg.  Season one is currently in post-production.  

Merritt is the arts and culture editor for the Liberty Champion.