Executive Producer Drew Levin announced today that his company Initiative Productions is commencing production on the company's 8-hour PBS series The Route to Christianity. The series follows chronicles the rise of one of the world's great religions and follows on the heels of Levin's last PBS series Walking the Bible which was a huge critical and ratings success. Drew Levin has many PBS, broadcast and cable credits as Executive Producer include Future Quest starring Jeff Goldblum and Showtime's one-hour drama series Total Recall 2070.

Drew Levin said that principal photography is to begin on December 23, 2009 in Bethlehem and Jerusalem and will include footage of some Christianity's holiest sites, including the Church of the Nativity which marks the spot where Jesus was born and the Cenacle or Upper Room, site of the Last Supper and other epochal events in the history of the Faith. All production will be in 1080P HD and the series will be shot throughout the Middle East and also in France, Italy and Greece.

The series will be presented by Jonathan Phillips who has been appeared prominently in numerous documentaries including Christianity: A History for UK Channel 4 and The Crusades: Crescent and the Cross for History Channel.

Veteran director Hector Galán will helm the entire 8 hour series and will Executive Produce along with Levin. Galán's most recent credits include the acclaimed feature film Los Lonely Boys: Cottonfields and Crossroads, the popular PBS series Visiones and History Channel's Cinco de Mayo.

The series writer is Ben Loeterman, also a PBS mainstay with numerous "Frontline" and "American Experience" episodes to his credit. Loeterman recently wrote and directed the highly acclaimed documentary "The People vs. Leo Frank."Says Drew Levin about the new series, "All of us at Initiative Productions are thrilled to be commencing production on The Route to Christianity. We're confident that it will be an even bigger hit for PBS than Walking the Bible was."

Executive Producer Drew S Levin today retracted the statement that his company Initiative Productions has "acquired" the completed 90-minute comedy special The Godfathers of Comedy, the Italian version of popular comedy formats such as Kings of Comedy and Latin Divas of Comedy.

The business arrangement with owners of this property is a sales agreement only, allowing Drew S Levin and his team to market the property for a limited time with no conveyance of primary or ancillary rights. There is no purchase, acquisition or any transfer of any ownership interest whatsoever in the property aside from this temporary marketing arrangement. Drew Levin and his organization regret the inaccurate and misleading impression that usage of the word "acquisition" created.

Says Levin, "I was drawn to the project because I recognized the extraordinary talents and achievements of the director, the producer and the comedians themselves. This is truly a dream team of comedy."

The Godfathers of Comedy was directed by Rocco Urbisci who is known at HBO's top comedy director, with credits including 11 mega-popular George Carlin specials. Urbisci also directed "40 Years of Laughter at the Improv" which was a primetime ratings winner for NBC.

The Godfathers of Comedy was produced by Neal Marshall, Showtime's leading comedy producer with over 25 credits on the cable net including Latin Divas of Comedy, Hot Tamales and next year's Green Collar Comedy.

The special features some of the Italian-American community's best stand up comics, including Rocky LaPorte who had his own Comedy Central special, former prosecutor Paul D'Angelo (Comedy All-Stars), John Caponera (Comics Unleashed, Drew Carey), Frank Santorelli from The Sopranos and Willie Fratto whose grandfather's bodyguard was Rocky Marciano - need we say more?

Says Drew Levin about his new marketing arrangement, "It's a real pleasure to be working with HBO's best comedy director and Showtime's best comedy producer on this hilarious 90 minute special that we're certain will be a big hit, no pun intended."

Executive Producer Drew S. Levin announced today that his company Initiative Productions has assembled the team it needs to launch production of its 8-hour PBS primetime historical/archeological series The Route to Christianity.

Levin will bring over twenty years of success as Executive Producer to oversee, steer and mold the project into another successful PBS series in the tradition of his Emmy-winning show Futurequest starring Jeff Goldblum and his most recent critical and ratings success Walking the Bible.

Helming the series and sharing executive producer duties is top broadcast, cable and feature film director/producer Hector Galán who has already began shooting the series in the Holy Land. Working with a top Israeli crew, Galán shot for five days in Bethlehem and Jerusalem over the Christmas holidays, recording a total of over 600 minutes of high definition footage.

The host is Jonathan Phillips, a history professor who has frequently appeared on documentaries as an expert commentator but whose charisma and talent, says Levin, "…will make him the next big PBS star presenter."

Serving as the primary creative consultant in charge of content is Alex Gregory, who served as principal writer on Drew S Levin's hit series Walking the Bible as well. Assisting Alex with research and story development is Tip McPartland.

Providing production services in Israel and Palestine is Sharon Schaveet and her company Biblical Productions. In Egypt and other Arab areas, Ash Hasen, another veteran of Walking the Bible, will serve as the shows "fixer" to obtain permits and will also field produce including hiring crews.

The editorial team is being assembled and Levin is targeting top editors such as Clement Barkley, Ash Hasen, Duncan Burns and Chuck Cirino. Slated to score the series is top composer and Ph.D. in music Richard Friedman whose music for Walking the Bible not only generated awards buzz but sold well as a soundtrack CD.

National Public Media is working with several major corporations on series underwriting and as Levin says, "They are the best in the business."

Levin is also working with top publicists and marketing executives in the faith-based sector to ensure that the show equals or exceeds the huge ratings success of Levin's previous show Walking the Bible. Says Levin, "We have truly assembled the A-team that can produce another award-winning PBS series that will again garner exceptional ratings and high critical acclaim."

Drew S Levin is an entertainment industry veteran and company leader with more than 25 years of proven international production, distribution, financial, marketing and management experience and has produced and distributed all forms of media properties to more than 100 countries worldwide.