“It really makes the Bible come alive” Executive Producer of ‘The Faithful’ René Echevarria on Scriptural Nuances
The Faithful: Women of the Bible tells the story of Genesis from the perspective of 5 women: Sarah, Hagar, Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel. René Echevarria is the co-writer, executive producer, and showrunner. He’s a prominent figure in Hollywood who got his start as a writer on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
(Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Watch the full conversation above.)
Carlson: Let’s talk about The Faithful. What’s it about?
Echevarria: It’s about the matriarchs of Genesis. It’s three, two-hour movies. One is about Sarah and Hagar and Abraham. The second one, which will be released on Palm Sunday, is about Rebecca and Isaac and their sons, Jacob and Esau. The third is about Rachel, Leah, and Jacob. So if you know the stories, you know it’s a lot to unpack.
Carlson: How did you get involved on this project?
Echevarria: My partner on this project is Carol Mendelsohn. She’s a towering figure in Hollywood. She was the executive producer and head writer of [CSI] for many years, and she had this desire to tell the stories of the women of the Bible. She reached out to me, because she knows I’m a believer and that I love the Bible. She comes from a Jewish background. Her grandfather was a rabbi, but she was raised in a more secular Jewish environment. We share a reverence for these stories, and she wanted to have a partner who was a believing Christian.
Carlson: Was it daunting to tackle a show specifically from the perspective of women?
Echevarria: It wasn’t daunting. There were certainly times when Mendelsohn needed to course-correct me. I might go down a biblical rabbit hole or something, and she would pull me out and say, “Yeah, but what’s Sarah feeling?” Abraham raises an army of 352 guys, and they go and rescue Lot. Mendelsohn was like, “What does Sarah think about all that?” Some of the things that happened to Abraham just didn’t fit in a two-hour context. We really dug down on their marriage, the challenge of infertility, and Sarah’s stumble of faith when she takes matters into her own hands.
Carlson: I remember you talking about the pregnancy test where whichever grain sprouted told you if you were pregnant and whether you were going to have a boy or a girl. You said some research today shows it was about 75% accurate, which is crazy. Were there any other discoveries that you found to be particularly fascinating?
Echevarria: Oh boy, there were so many. One thing I learned was that this arrangement with Hagar was common at the time. We actually have surviving documents, clay tablets from Mesopotamia from the time of Abraham, with specific names of specific people in specific marriages saying, “If Gilga does not provide Joresh with an heir by the fifth year of their marriage, she will have to provide a handmade.” So this arrangement wasn’t something Sarah just concocted. It was an answer to the problem of infertility. God had a different answer for Sarah. It really makes the Bible come alive when you realize how grounded and factual it is.
Carlson: There is one line in the first episode where Sarai tells Abram that “God told you that you were going to have an heir, not that we were going to have an heir.” That’s a nuance I had never noticed. As you were reading Scripture for your research, were there any other nuances you hadn’t seen before?
Echevarria: Oh, absolutely. But that’s an interesting one, because I noticed that as well. He never specifically says “you and Sarah.” First, it says, “I’ll make a great nation of you,” and “this land will be for your descendants.” I was fascinated that Abraham hadn’t taken a second wife earlier, which would’ve been perfectly normal. In the scene you described, Sarah says, “But did he mention me?” It’s heartbreaking to hear her say that. They’ve been wanderers for 10-15 years, and it still hasn’t happened. Abraham tells her, “Who else would it be? You are my wife and no other.” I think the story of Sarah and Abraham is a powerful affirmation of marriage. Later in the story, Hagar says to Sarah, “Ishmael is Abraham’s son, but he is not your son. Isaac is, and for some reason, God only knows it was important that this covenant be of you. It’s not just Abraham, but of you.” The character of Sarah mattered to God. There were so many revelations and so much of it was the fruit of this lens of the women of the Bible.
Carlson: Why do you think that perspective is important to have in film and tv today?
Echevarria: Partly because it’s untold. There were times when it allowed us not to tell the expected parts of the story, the parts you’ve seen before. It makes you realize Sarah’s journey of faith was more challenging in some ways than Abraham’s in the sense that Abraham had the benefit of having an encounter with God and she didn’t. She had to put her faith in him at first, because she didn’t know God. We tried to tell the story of her journey. It’s been a fascinating deep dive into Scripture, and I’m so grateful I’ve had this journey.
Carlson: You include several visual depictions of God talking to Abraham. How did you decide what that would look and sound like?
Echevarria: We were careful not to show God, especially God’s first encounter with Abraham, because we wanted to amplify that Sarah didn’t experience it. She just woke up one night and Abraham wasn’t in bed. She goes to find him, and he’s got this beatific expression and has to explain to her what happened. Again, she didn’t have the benefit of that experience. Hagar does. That’s one of the great ironies of the story and one of its profound messages. God looked after the forgotten, lowly slave girl. He saw her. As she says in Scripture, “You are the God who sees. You see me.”
Carlson: What do you hope audiences take away from this show?
Echevarria: I think all three stories are stories of brave, courageous, strong women. But they all stumble in their own way. They fall short, like we all do. Yet he made a good work of all of them, because they’re the beginning of the lineage that culminated in the coming of our Savior. To share that story now in the Easter season feels like a real blessing.
The Faithful: Women of the Bible will be released on Fox starting March 22nd, with the second episode released on Palm Sunday and the finale on Easter Sunday. Each episode will be available the next day on Hulu.
