The FOX Television series “The Faithful” reimagines foundational stories from the Book of Genesis as an epic yet deeply personal drama about faith, family rivalry and God’s sovereign plan. Set against ancient landscapes and filmed in Italy, the production follows Jacob’s journey from a younger son wrestling with destiny to the father of a nation, while highlighting the women and relatives whose lives intertwine with his under divine purpose.
Tom Payne (“The Walking Dead,” “Horizon”), who plays Jacob across key story arcs, portrays a character whose every decision is shaped by encounters with God. Early in the narrative, Jacob’s mother Rebecca reveals a heavenly message that reverses traditional birthright expectations.
“God has told her that he is destined to be the one who leads,” Payne said. This divine assurance emboldens Jacob, even as he faces deception, exile and the complexities of building a family.
Payne emphasized Jacob’s internal growth through moments of direct communion with God, including the visionary experience of Jacob’s Ladder.
“He has his own experience,” Payne said. “He has these huge jumps and this huge development of him.” The series depicts Jacob as a man compelled forward by what God has foretold, not by personal ambition alone. “Jacob is driven by the word of God. He’s always compelled by what is foretold, and this is what is right. And it works out in the end.”
As Jacob marries and fathers children who will form the tribes of Israel, the story underscores themes of legacy and provision. Payne noted how the character finds strength in the warmth of an extended family blessed by God, a reminder that divine plans often unfold through imperfect human relationships.
“He has all these children and all this warmth and love around his kids,” Payne said, reflecting the biblical promise that God multiplies what is entrusted to the faithful.
Blu Hunt (“The New Mutants”), cast as Rachel, brings to life the favored wife whose story intertwines love, jealousy and ultimate trust in God’s greater design. Rachel’s rivalry with her sister Leah forms the emotional core of the family’s trials, yet the series frames their conflicts within a larger spiritual context. Hunt described how the characters’ flaws and choices ultimately serve a higher purpose.
“Even when it seems you’ve strayed away from the plan by doing all the things you’re not meant to do, actually, in the end, if you just have faith, you have actually stuck to the plan in a way,” she said.
Rachel’s arc, Hunt added, teaches enduring lessons about marriage, sisterhood and redemption. The biblical text shows the sisters competing for Jacob’s affection and bearing children who become foundational to God’s people.
“We’re learning so much about ourselves through these stories, just in lessons of our daily lives and stories about marriage and love and sisterhood,” Hunt said.
Their competitiveness and mistakes, she noted, become instruments of God’s providence, illustrating that faith transforms rivalry into legacy.
Taylor Napier (“The Wheel of Time”), who portrays one of Rachel and Leah’s brothers, explores the tensions of entitlement and resentment within the same household. His character feels the weight of patriarchal expectations and reacts with drama when Jacob appears to encroach on what he believes is rightfully his. Yet Napier highlighted how the series makes these ancient figures relatable.
“When you get into them, they’re all so universal to what anyone is kind of going through now,” he said.
The production, Napier observed, shifts focus from grand, distant epics to the intimate realities of family life.
“This project is doing, that I really responded to when I read the script was it’s making it very intimate and very much about these familial relationships,” he said. Biblical stories, he added, reveal that humans have always wrestled with the same emotions — love, frustration, rivalry — and that God works through those very struggles.
Napier’s character ultimately confronts the consequences of focusing on what he lacks rather than what God has provided.
“He’s a character who thinks a lot about what he doesn’t have, rather than what he does have,” Napier said. “Maybe that’s not the best way to think about life. Maybe I should just be grateful for what I do have.” This reflection captures a core inspirational message of “The Faithful”: gratitude and surrender open the door to God’s blessings.
Across its arcs, “The Faithful” weaves historical accuracy with emotional depth, showing how God’s plan advances through flawed people. Jacob’s deceptions give way to covenant promises. Rachel and Leah’s sisterly bond, tested by jealousy, produces the lineage that fulfills divine prophecy. Supporting characters like Napier’s illustrate that no one stands outside God’s redemptive work.
The series avoids spectacle, instead emphasizing internal spiritual journeys. Payne described Jacob’s growth as a process of owning his calling after personal encounters with God replace reliance on others’ words. Hunt stressed that approaching even painful scenes with underlying love mirrors the biblical truth that God redeems human frailty. Napier pointed to the universality of the stories, where familial rifts 4,000 years ago echo modern hearts seeking purpose.
In doing so, “The Faithful” invites viewers to see themselves in these pages of Scripture. Faith is not abstract but lived amid tents, flocks and family tables. God’s plan persists through rivalry, loss and time jumps of years, reminding audiences that trust in the divine leads to abundance and legacy.
“Every mistake they made, they had to make in order to get to the end of their lives and do everything that was so important,” Hunt reflected.
“The Faithful: Women of the Bible” which premiered March 22 on FOX Television and starring Minnie Driver, Natacha, Jeffrey Donovan, Millie Brady, Blu Hunt, and Tom Payne, airs its finale on Easter Sunday, April 5 at 8 pm EST and replaying on Hulu.
DeWayne Hamby has covered faith-based music, movies, television, books, and the retail industry for more than 30 years. He is a film member of the Critics Choice Association and the author of the book Gratitude Adjustment. Connect with him at on Facebook, X, YouTube or InstaGram.
