Ever since her days on “Touched by an Angel,” actress and producer Roma Downey has had a heart for content that offers light in a dark world. It’s a big part of why she and husband Mark Burnett started LightWorkers, their production company that is committed to brightening people’s days by telling stories of hope. It’s also why she agreed to return to the small screen to produce and star in “The Baxters,” based on the popular Karen Kingsbury book series.
“When we started LightWorkers, our commitment was to tell stories of inspiration, stories that uplifted, stories, ultimately, they were about hope,” Ms. Downey recently told The Washington Times’ Higher Ground. “And that hasn’t wavered, even from serious dramas to more lighthearted soap operas … Our mantra over here has always been that it’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”
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While “The Baxters” definitely has its dramatic moments, Ms. Downey describes the show as a “hope opera,” following a Christian family through the very real highs and lows of life. This mix of entertainment and faith is what the 63-year-old has seemingly mastered during her time in Hollywood.
“I want to tell contemporary stories that are relatable,” Ms. Downey explained. “Even though [‘Touched by an Angel’] was so many years ago, it still plays and reruns and it still touches people right in their hearts. And people say, ‘When is there going to be another show like ‘Touched by an Angel’ back on TV?’ And I really think that ‘The Baxters’ is that show. While it doesn’t have angels in the central role, it has people who care about each other. It has people who would think nothing of holding hands and praying in a scene.”
But just because Ms. Downey has seen success with her faith-focused content, doesn’t mean that it’s always easy to get these projects done. Her hit 2013 TV miniseries “The Bible,” has been viewed by tens of millions of people over the years, but many in Hollywood thought it was a bad idea at the time.
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“When we decided to do [‘The Bible’], a lot of people in our industry had advised us not to,” Ms. Downey noted. “They said, ‘Sure, who’s going to want to see the Bible on TV?’ And it turns out that over a hundred million people wanted to see the Bible. I think we always underestimate the faith audience — particularly in the United States.”
Even with “The Baxters,” there were plenty of challenges and delays along the way, but faith and prayer kept the project going. And Ms. Downey believes that God was saving it for “such a time as this.”
“I think that some of the distributors might have wished that wasn’t as Christian as it was, you know, that they like the family drama aspect of it. ‘Did they really have to be a Christian family drama?’” Ms. Downey said. “And one of my promises to Karen Kingsbury, when I asked her if she would entrust me to be a producer to bring this to the screen, that was one of my core agreements with her, was that I wouldn’t try to dilute that in any way. It’s a key part of who the Baxters are in the world and how they love each other.”
And at the end of the day, Ms. Downey believes that the very thing that may have turned off some in Hollywood is exactly what’s going to endear audiences to “The Baxters.”
“I think families everywhere will identify with the struggles that this family go through,” she concluded. “The difference just is when the Baxters are brought to their knees by life and life struggles, when they’re down there, they pray.”
Seasons 1-3 of “The Baxters” is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
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Marissa Mayer is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her work has been featured in Christian Post, The Daily Signal, and Intellectual Takeout. Mayer has a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Arizona State University.