Cable, History Channel | featured news

History Channel has renewed Vikings for a second season. The cable network has ordered 10 more episodes for its first scripted drama created by Michael Hirst, it was announced Friday by Dirk Hoogstra, executive vp development and programming for History. Production on season two will begin in the summer with a 2014 premiere.

The producers of the cable TV miniseries on the Bible say Internet chatter that their Satan character resembles President Barack Obama is "utter nonsense."...

The latest episode of the History Channel’s new series The Bible drew an uncomfortable buzz when some viewers noticed the character of Satan seemed to resemble President Barack Obama. Twitter erupted with observations Sunday evening, including one from conservative personality Glenn Beck, who previously instituted a personal ban on uttering the president’s name, but couldn’t keep himself from noting the similarity between the character and “that guy.”

History Channel's "The Bible" premiere delivered divine Nielsen ratings Sunday night, thumping all of the major broadcast shows. The miniseries' two-hour cable network premiere was seen by 13.1 million viewers and scored a 3.3 rating among adults 18-49. That's more viewers and a higher demo rating than any show on the major broadcast networks last night and ranks as cable's most-watched entertainment telecast this year. If you include the show's repeat, the viewership rises to 14.8 million for the night.

There was little change at the top of the primetime basic cable rankings for 2011, with USA finishing the year as No.1 in total viewers and adults 18-49 for a sixth consecutive time on the strength of its original series. The cable network added another hit to its original slate this year with rookie Suits. There was one change each in the Top 5 among total viewers and 18-49 from 2010. History broke into the Top 5 among total viewers after doing the same among adults 18-49 last year, while siblings TNT and TBS swapped places in the top 18-49 echelon. (Network rankings after the jump.)

History channel enlists reality producer Mark Burnett for 'The Bible,' a 10-hour docudrama