Fox News is touting its new faith-based podcast, The Life of Jesus Podcast, beginning Sunday, November 30, for Fox Faith, its new subscription VOD service, and the lineup of celebrity voices is quite impressive.
According to a statement released to the press, it will feature “over 100 notable actors” voicing characters of the Bible, including Kristen Bell as Mary Magdalene, Sean Astin as Matthew, Brian Cox as the voice of God, Malcolm McDowell as Caiaphas, and John Rhys-Davies as the narrator, just to name a few.
However, it appears no one informed either Kristen Bell or Brian Cox about their participation, as both actors have stated they only learned their voices were used after the announcement went public.
According to reports, Fox appears to have drawn from a 15-year-old, 23-hour audiobook and retooled it into a multipart podcast series without notifying several of the performers whose voices were used.
While Bell did record the role of Mary Magdalene, it was for a completely separate audiobook project she worked on almost two decades ago. She had no idea the material would resurface or that her name would be used to promote the project. According to Rolling Stone, a rep explained that Bell only learned that Fox Faith had acquired the long-buried project when she received a request to appear on Fox & Friends.
Cox, who has previously gone on record calling Fox News “the devil,” has also indicated he was unaware that his past recordings were being repurposed. According to Deadline, Cox was oblivious of Fox’s ultimate involvement with the project when he recorded his part for 2010’s The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible: New Testament for Ignatius Press.
A representative for John Rhys-Davies also confirmed with Rolling Stone that he only learned of his participation in the project earlier this week.
Fox Faith plans to roll out the series in four installments, each scheduled to align with key moments in the Christian calendar:
November 30: The first 13 episodes debut to mark the start of Advent.
December 21: An additional 13 episodes to be released during Christmas week.
February 15: The third installment of 13 episodes arrives for Lent.
March 29: The final 13 episodes premiere on Palm Sunday.
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