It was a calling of sorts, says Roma Downey of the History Channel’s “The Bible,” a 10-part series, which she co-produced with her husband, Mark Burnett. Burnett is a four-time Emmy winner, who has produced more than 1,200 hours of television programming, including “Survivor.”

Downey, best-known for her starring role in “Touched by an Angel,” says the idea for “The Bible” came about when she sat down with her children to watch The Ten Commandments, which had a significant impact on her as a young person.

“They just were not interested,” she says. “Kids today are so media savvy, and [The Ten Commandments] was so dated that it didn’t hold up, so we wanted to bring the Bible to the screen in fresh ways.”

In fact, when leaving to begin filming, Downey says her youngest said, “Don’t make it lame.”

“We wanted it to speak to youth. They’re used to seeing high-quality, and they’re a sophisticated audience. They don’t want to be talked at. We wanted this to feel current, relevant,” she said.

Directed by Crispin Reece, Tony Mitchell and Christopher Spencer and written by Nic Young, the series premiered March 3, 2013, running for five consecutive Sundays. “The Bible,” also to be released on DVD, contains some of the best-loved and well-known stories of the Bible, such as Adam and Eve, Noah and the Ark, Moses and the burning bush, Daniel in the lions’ den, the angel Gabriel visiting the virgin Mary, the nativity and the last supper.

Downey says when the project started four years ago, they determined it would have to cover all the books from Genesis to Revelation, which presented the question of how to tell such a massive story—how to tell thousands of years and hundreds of individual stories in 10 hours of air time. Either they could select dozens of short summaries and have to gallop through them, or choose fewer characters and make the giant narrative a deeper and more emotional connection. They chose the latter under the guidance of a team of numerous theologians, advisors and biblical experts and incorporated five Old Testament and five New Testament episodes with the bridge episode being Daniel’s Vision.

The series was filmed in Ouarzazate, Morroco, between February and July 2012, with more than 400 people comprising the crew. Downey said they chose the location due to available studio space, talented crew and believable landscape, although their greatest challenges was weather ranging from freezing cold to boiling hot—and dust—as well as ensuring the safety of the crew, especially when filming scenes that included horses and chariots, battle days and having Diogo Morgado, the actor who portrays Jesus, on a cross on a day when it was particularly windy.

Of Morgado, Downey said, “He’s strong yet gentle and humble. We believe his portrayal will bring the gospel to shine light where it’s never shown before.”

Upon their return from filming, Downey and Burnett showed the footage to their children. “They were really blown away and asked if they could bring the trailers into their high school,” Downey said, “We were fortunate to get the team that won the Oscar for The Gladiators. [‘The Bible’] has amazing texture and is so layered—not just bibles and donkeys. We wanted it to feel accessible, relatable.”

Downey and Burnett also have co-authored a companion book A Story of God and All of Us (Faith Words, 2013), as well as A Story of God and All of Us Reflections (Faith Words, 2013), which is a devotional based on “The Bible” (see PDF sample) and A Story of God and All of Us Young Readers Edition: A Novel Based on the Epic TV Miniseries ‘The Bible,’ (Little Brown Young Readers, 2013) abridged to be age appropriate for middle grade readers and told from Jesus’ perspective, starting with the crucifixion and flashing back to the Old Testament.