The Red Tent Exclusive: Lifetime Miniseries Features Women of the Bible; Focuses on Jacob's Daughter Dinah
The biblical story of Dinah may have only spanned one chapter in the Bible, but Lifetime networks is expanding on the story of Jacob's daughter in the two night mini-series, "The Red Tent."
The Lifetime miniseries "The Red Tent" is based off of the best-selling novel by Anita Diamant. The story will come to life on television screens with a focus on Dinah, the daughter of Leah and Jacob.
The Bible focuses on Dinah through the perspectives of her father Jacob and brothers who avenge the fact that she was defiled by Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country. Throughout the chapter of Genesis 34, the men in Dinah's family plot to avenge her, but she has no voice.
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However, "The Red Tent" four hour, two-night televised series pulls from Diamant's novel to not only give Dinah a voice to tell her story, but to also introduce the complex lives of her mother Leah, her aunts and father Jacob's other wives, which include Rachel, Zilpah and Bilhah.
Rob Sharenow, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Lifetime, spoke about the miniseries coming to the network made popular by women.
"'The Red Tent' brings premium and popular elements to a unique and timeless story," Sharenow said in a statement obtained by The Christian Post. "It perfectly articulates our vision for Lifetime as the destination for epic movie events."
Morena Baccarin, the Emmy-nominated "Homeland" actress, plays one of Jacob's four wives, Rachel in the Lifetime production. She spoke to The Christian Post about the project being different than anything she has ever done.
"It's a biblical story of biblical proportions, so it was just a very definitive period piece and very different from anything that I've ever done," Baccarin told CP. "It was on location in Morocco and it was all-encompassing."
The miniseries begins with Dinah enjoying her childhood before she becomes an adult, played by Golden Globe-nominated Rebecca Ferguson of "The White Queen," who has to overcome love, loss and heartbreak. However, the story unites the women of her tribe who gather inside of the red tent where they engage in shared traditions while overcoming the tribulations that ancient women of their time may have faced.
In "The Red Tent," viewers will witness characters inspired by women of the Bible who come together in the actual tent to celebrate the various cycles of life, including childbearing while supporting one another.
While the story is inspired by characters in the Bible, Baccarin told CP that the book of fiction that the miniseries stems from makes it fascinating to watch.
"I was just really happy to tell the story because I just think that it's really a fascinating story," the actress told CP. "Of course our movie is based on the book so it's a book of fiction but I thought it was just really universal themes of love and family and betrayal and birth and death. So I just thought it was a fascinating story."
The actress said she believes people from all religious backgrounds can enjoy the film miniseries, despite its Christian inspiration.
"I think it's a very universal film. Other women come from different tribes and they honor their different tribes and their different forms of faith," Baccarin told CP. "It's more about the comradery between the different women and bonds between the family. I would say those are bigger themes than the religion in this piece."
Despite many of the serious themes featured in the miniseries, Baccarin calls it fun to watch.
"I think ultimately it's really fun to watch and I think in the deeper darker parts of it is just about trust and betrayal and how misinformation can lead to making errors and decisions," she told CP. "Hopefully people don't judge too soon. It's not only entertaining, but it's full of good themes and messages."
Baccarin stars in the miniseries alongside an all-star cast that includes Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy nominated actresses Minnie Driver and Debra Winger who respectively play Dina's mother Leah and Jacob's mother Rebecca. Will Tudor portrays Dinah's brother Joseph while Iain Glen will portray Jacob.
The novel that inspired the Lifetime miniseries has sold millions of copies, has been translated in 28 languages, and is a New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today and Entertainment Weekly Top Ten Bestseller. "The Red Tent" will appear on Dec. 7 and Dec. 8 at 9 p.m. ET.
