STORY OF GOD SEASON 3: AN EVEN CLOSER LOOK INTO HOW FAITH FORMED THE WORLD

Now on its third season, National Geographic’s critically acclaimed documentary Story of God follows host Morgan Freeman as his worldwide, interfaith journey explores harder questions, deeper insights, and darker themes.

Faith, religion, belief, and spirituality — these are often regarded as difficult and delicate topics amongst many groups of people. It’s so personal and nuanced to each person that it guides and shapes how they act and approach the world, but it can also vary so vastly that it has come between people and communities.



All of this is part of why religion is so critical to how communities and cultures are shaped and formed, how they relate to each other, and why they are where they are today. And this is exactly what National Geographic’s documentary series, Story of God, wants to explore — the impact of faith, the history of religions, and most importantly, the answers to the difficult higher power-related questions that we’ve all asked once in our lives.

Hosted by Morgan Freeman, Story of God is now on its third and most ambitious season, exploring harder questions and discovering more about varying religions around the world.

The first two seasons have already set the bar high. The show took a closer look at how different faiths around the world interpreted the afterlife, and what they believed happened after death. It also took a closer look at the possible beliefs regarding the end of the world, and on the flipside, the beginning of it all. The show tackles some of the most difficult questions known to man: why does evil exist? Is there a heaven? Who is the chosen one?

It wasn’t easy to find answers, but the show managed to discover the different truths around the world through research and in-depth interviews with key people. This also allowed the audiences to not only be told the answers, but to live them and experience them as well. From the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, the Mayan temples in Guatemala, to the banks of the Ganges River, audiences saw first-hand how the divine is worshipped around the world.

As difficult as it may sound, season three takes the shows vision even further. For the third instalment, an exclusive first-look partnership deal was signed between National Geographic and Revelations Entertainment. The latter, owned by Freeman himself, will aid in creating more nonfiction content to expand the series franchise.

Thematically, the third season takes a darker, but arguably even more important turn, with an exploration on the devil, sin, and religious law. It explores motifs of morality — what truly is wrong and right — and whether or not God does live amongst people.
Season 3 offers 6 episodes, following Freeman through 30 different countries including Kathmandu, Hanoi, Jericho, and Lourdes. It features encounters and interviews with druids, shamans, priests, two ‘living goddesses”, a former executioner, and one imam — amongst many others.  The sheer amount of insight from these individuals alone offers a unique and eye-opening journey into the culture and beliefs around the globe.



“We're hoping that most people will take away something in particular, and that particular thing would be: we must all be tolerant of other belief systems because they all narrow down and they all boil down to the same core idea — that love works,” Freeman says in an interview with The Christian Post. “

“One of the things we love most about doing this series is finding the interconnected threads all humans share across different cultures, faiths and ideologies when it comes to seeking understanding of life's great mysteries," Freeman shares in another interview with NextSeasonTV. "I hope this series continues to not just entertain and inform, but also to open dialogue that will allow us to understand our neighbours.”


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FOX Networks Group Asia (FNG Asia) is 21st Century Fox’s multi-media business in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. FNG Asia develops, produces and distributes entertainment, sports, factual and movie channels in 14 languages. The FNG Asia portfolio includes over 30 channel brands, on both linear and non-linear platforms, including FOX Sports, FOX Life, FOX Movies, National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo People, SCM (formerly STAR Chinese Movies) and SCC (formerly STAR Chinese Channel) and its on-demand video-streaming service FOX+. As the region’s leading broadcaster, FNG Asia reaches more than 580 million cumulative homes with offices in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Australia and the UAE. FNG Asia is a fully owned subsidiary of 21st Century Fox.

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“The Flood: Brad Bestelink On His Epic Documentary”

In Botswana’s renowned Okavango Delta, the wildlife depends on the existence of water. National Geographic’s The Flood gives viewers a riveting and never before seen look into the experience of this kingdom against its capricious and dramatic environment and producer Brad Bestelink talks about what went into making it.

From award-winning Botswanian filmmaker Brad Bestelink and National Geographic’s Wild Kingdom team, The Flood is a natural history television event that lets audiences in on the lives of the wildlife trying to survive nature’s unpredictability during the phenomenon of a flood. To this lush kingdom, such an event is a both blessing and a curse as the environment is simultaneously a haven as well as a dangerous, life-threatening trap. In the wake of the flood, the lives of thousands and thousands of animals hang in the balance and The Flood perfectly captures the natural drama of this marvel.  

It’s not surprising that filming something of this scale and nature is no small feat. “The main challenge was predicting the timing of many of the great events, as the flood differs from year to year,” producer and creator Brad Bestelink shares. “To overcome that we had to have crews in the field for long periods of time for single sequences, waiting for these events to happen. We wanted to capture some unusual behaviour, specifically hippos underwater, and that is always challenging.”

Bestelink, who is the co-founder and a cinematographer for Natural History Film Unit Botswana, grew up in the African bush. Considered as a “real-life Mowgli”, he aims to expose audiences to the wonder of Botswana and in the process, hopes to make viewers more aware and consciousness of the fragility of our world.

“We try and reach as many people as possible to share the beauty and the value of these wild places,” Bestlink explains. “We hope that people get emotionally invested in the animals and would therefore consider the environment more than they otherwise would have, and that this awareness would encourage them to do their bit to protect this environment. We also hope that it might inspire people to travel to Botswana which is ultimately the most effective way to keep these wild places alive.”

It was only natural for Bestelink to make Botswana his muse and film his art — growing up, his grandfather ran a crocodile hunting camp, which his parents eventually turned into the country’s first photography camp.  This sparked Bestelink’s love for not only film and his country, but for bringing film into his country as well. “The film scene in Botswana is thriving,” the cinematographer and producer shares.  “Due to the diversity of the habitats that Botswana offers, there is always a lot going on. We hope that there can ultimately be more citizen engagement in the local film industry.”

It’s becoming clear that if there were anyone to tell the story of Botswana and it’s beauty to the world, it would be Brad Bestelink. His passion for his craft and his country is giving viewers the true and authentic stories they need to bear witness to.  And so far, works like The Flood have succeeded telling a very real and incredibly enthralling story of our planet. 

“It is always good for people to broaden their minds and their experiences,” Bestelink says. “And watching wildlife documentaries can be educational as well as entertainment. Many people aren’t able to actually travel across continents, so these sorts of documentaries can bring these wild places to them in their homes. We hope the viewers need to understand that these wild places exist.”

Stream The Flood and other National Geographic documentaries on FOX+!

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About FOX Networks Group Asia

FOX Networks Group Asia (FNG Asia) is 21st Century Fox’s multi-media business in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. FNG Asia develops, produces and distributes entertainment, sports, factual and movie channels in 14 languages. The FNG Asia portfolio includes over 30 channel brands, on both linear and non-linear platforms, including FOX Sports, FOX Life, FOX Movies, National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo People, SCM (formerly STAR Chinese Movies) and SCC (formerly STAR Chinese Channel) and its on-demand video-streaming service FOX+. As the region’s leading broadcaster, FNG Asia reaches more than 580 million cumulative homes with offices in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Australia and the UAE. FNG Asia is a fully owned subsidiary of 21st Century Fox.

About FOX+

FOX+ is the only video-streaming service in Asia that combines TV series, movies and live sports, in one place, accessible from any device, at any time and in HD. With a combination of first-run Hollywood blockbusters and hit Chinese series and movies, FOX+ is the ultimate destination for entertainment. More than 11,000 hours of programming across multiple genres are available, comprising of the most popular content from global movie studios and television channels, as well as original FOX programming and FOX+ exclusive content.

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