If the term “faith programming” conjures images of Jesus Christ or Bible-thumping pastors in your head, you likely haven’t seen one of the titles on Wonder Project’s slate. Along with shingles like Angel Studios (“Sound of Freedom”) and 5&2 Studios (“The Chosen”), the production company behind the hit TV series “House of David” is taking faith-based film and television far beyond the strictly religious content of a bygone era.
Onto the front lines of the streaming wars, for instance.
With the Oct. 5 launch of a subscription-based channel for $8.99 per month, or $89.99 per year, on either a standalone app or via an existing Prime Video subscription, Wonder Project is betting on a more modern approach to the faith-based, or values, market — in terms of both storytelling and platform.
“What we’re seeing now is that faith programming is broader, more nuanced and more contemporary than it may have been in the past,” says Traci Blackwell, a senior development executive at Amazon MGM Studios. “It often explores themes of hope, perseverance, community and moral complexity in ways that resonate with both faith-based and mainstream audiences.”
Wonder Project Chief Executive Kelly Merryman Hoogstraten worked with founder and Chief Content Officer Jon Erwin to pinpoint and build a broad programming slate built around four thematic “circles”: God, family, country and dreams.
One of those stories is the scripted drama “House of David,” which premiered in February on Prime Video and grabbed more than 40 million viewers. The series, created by Erwin, follows the iconic sheepherder (Michael Iskander) who is anointed King of Israel, then defeats a giant named Goliath (Martyn Ford) in the eight-episode first season. The series obviously has biblical roots, but it’s intended to attract more than a niche audience. “The production values, storytelling and universal themes appeal well beyond that [faith] core. That’s why the category has expanded into what we’d call ‘inspirational storytelling’ that can live alongside any other premium series,” says Blackwell.
The success of Wonder Project’s subscription service is intimately connected to ensuring that “House of David” suffers no sophomore slump: In an unexpected move, Season 2 will premiere with two episodes on Wonder Project’s launch day and will not be available on Prime Video until a later date.
“This kind of strategic windowing actually strengthens the show’s life cycle,” Blackwell explains. “Wonder Project offers an early home for fans who are eager to see it first, and when the series arrives on Prime Video, it reaches a much larger audience worldwide. For us, it’s about extending the impact and ensuring the show has multiple opportunities to capture viewers across platforms.”
Thinking of the audience and how they’re watching is something Merryman Hoogstraten says follows the model of streaming competitor Netflix, where she worked as vice president of content acquisition from 2007 to 2014.
“One of the reasons I think Netflix was so successful in those early days is that we were really flexible,” she says. “We looked at the project, we looked at the partner, and we said, ‘What is the best thing for the audience?’”
Besides “House of David,” other Wonder Project offerings include originals like “Redemption,” a limited docuseries following Ohio State’s 2024 football season set to premiere on the service in October, a Christmas special hosted by Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman slated for December and the forthcoming contemporary scripted drama “It’s Not Like That,” starring Scott Foley as a widowed pastor and Erinn Hayes as a divorcee. The service also includes more than 125 licensed titles including series like “Party of Five” and “The Conners” and films such as “Rudy,” “Dead Poets Society” and “The Sound of Music.” Some titles are available in both original and edited-for-TV versions for younger audiences.
That audience is increasingly attractive to Hollywood because it’s a fluid — and still underserved — market. “It’s bigger than we sometimes think because we think about faith as a genre instead of an audience,” Erwin says. “But I’m in my early 40s, a father of four kids, and I can’t get anything that my kids and I can watch together. I don’t know if a show that I’m watching is going to be offensive or not.”
Though it features consistently high stakes and its own game of thrones, “House of David” is very light on sex and profanity, and when it does contain violence, such as in the David and Goliath showdown in the Season 1 finale, it’s not as graphic as or sustained as certain competitors. That makes it both premium and family viewing, which you can’t say for “The Last of Us” or “Squid Game.”
“There’s a beautiful thing about Wonder Project,” says Erwin. “I am the audience.”
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