CBS Television Network Premiere of THE DOVEKEEPERS

This post was sponsored by the Role Mommy Writer’s Network.

THE DOVEKEEPERS, a four-hour limited event series from executive producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett will be broadcast on CBS, Tuesday, March 31 and Wednesday, April 1, 2015 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT).

This special tv event stars Cote de Pablo, Rachel Brosnahan and Kathryn Prescott in the title dovekeeper roles, Sam Neill as first-century Jewish scholar and historian Josephus, and Diego Boneta as a star warrior of the Jewish army at Masada. The series is based on Alice Hoffman’s bestselling, critically acclaimed historical novelabout a group of extraordinary women whose lives intersect in a fight for survival at the siege of Masada.

Set in ancient Israel, THE DOVEKEEPERS is based on the true events at Masada in 70 C.E. After being forced out of their home in Jerusalem by the Romans, 900 Jews were ensconced in a fortress at Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert. Besieged at Masada, the Jews held out for months against the vast Roman armies. The project will recount the events from the perspective of a few extraordinary women who arrive at Masada with unique backstories, but a common bond for survival. Additionally, these women, who work together daily as dovekeepers, are all concealing substantial secrets.

I was lucky enough to receive a DVD of the event series as a sneak peek before everyone else as well as a copy of the New York Times bestselling novel The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman!

Hoffman’s novel was published in 2011 by Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, earning the New York Times’ bestseller status and widespread critical acclaim, including being hailed by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison as “a major contribution to 21st century literature.”

While I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, I did of course carve a number of hours out of an evening to watch the CBS special.

The historical account of Masada has always intrigued me and so another tale of the event, weaving truth and fiction together was something I was looking forward too.  I admit that The Dovekeepers wasn’t what I was expecting from the little I had read about it when I was asked if I wanted a preview.  It also didn’t hurt that my favorite NCIS actor was starring in it as well 😉

If I had to sum the genre up in two words it would be “chick flick” rather than “historical fiction,” which was further solidified by the fact that my husband decided not to watch the second part with me, lol.  To be fair to him, there is a lot of romance in the story lines.   I told him to stick it out, and I was right, because I think he would have really appreciated the storyline as a whole when it came down to the end.  (I’ll get him to watch the second half yet!)

The three main characters are survivors.  One an outcast who is branded as a witch, another scorned by her father, the third raised as a boy.  There lives are intertwined in unseparable ways, as friends and as family.

For a television event the entire show is on the scale of epic.  It doesn’t look cheap.  There is a lot of emotion in the production.  Passion, love, sorrow, hate, and even hope.

I did find the characters were very interesting, from the main ones to the supporting ones, and all the actors did a masterful job portraying them.

So don’t forget to set your DVR for THE DOVEKEEPERS if you don’t watch it live on CBS, Tuesday, March 31 and Wednesday, April 1, 2015 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT).

Also The Dovekeepers Pinterest page has launched!
Check it out here: https://www.pinterest.com/thedovekeepers/

You can also learn more and follow along on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDovekeepers
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDovekeepers and
Instagram: @dovekeeperscbs