Kings

What would a modern-day, North American, big-city monarchy look like? And how would that storyline take shape if it were loosely based on the classic biblical story of David and Goliath? Michael Green (NBC’s “Heroes”) is attempting to answer that question with his new series “Kings”.

I have admired actor Ian McShane for years (HBO’s “Deadwood”), and was very pleased to see that he is playing the lead role of King Silas. I don’t feel like actors get any better than McShane. He’s one actor who literally changes the way writers craft their lines. He is believable, mysterious, and riveting.

There is David (actor Chris Egan) who will challenge King Silas’ claim to the throne. There is the King’s other son (the Jonathan figure), whose character was a little light for me, and actually felt more like the prodigal son, than the Jonathan of Scripture.

Interestingly, when I watched “Kings”, I had no idea that it was supposed to be biblically-based. The entire two hours, I kept thinking, “That kinda happened in the Bible”, or “That guy reminds me of the prophet Nathan.” It was a day later when a Facebook friend told me that it’s based on the story of David and Goliath.

Finally, I feel like there needs to be a conversation that discusses the role Michael Green is playing in presenting God to the modern culture, using media to do so. You can’t possibly miss the overtures to Christ and redemption in “Heroes”, and it looks like “Kings” will be very similar.

But that’s for another post.

Check out “Kings” for yourself, Sunday nights on NBC.