Why Martin Scorsese Put His Faith in Fox Nation

Cinephile eyebrows had been raised earlier this yr when Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese introduced that he’d partnering with Fox Information Media’s streaming service, Fox Nation, for his new TV enterprise, Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints. However the present’s govt producer, Matti Leshem, characterizes the unlikely partnership as a match made in… nicely, heaven.

“Fox Nation has been extremely supportive,” Leshem tells TVNewser about his and Scorsese’s working relationship with the streamer, which premieres the primary half of the eight-episode docudrama on Nov. 17. Every of the hour-long installments dramatizes the life and instances of a Catholic Church-beatified saint starting from fifteenth century warrior Joan of Arc to twentieth century friar Maximilian Kolbe. The remaining 4 episodes will stream within the spring, with the potential of extra seasons to come back.  

Nonetheless, Leshem understands if religious Scorsese disciples have blended emotions about subscribing to a streaming platform that’s related to a conservative-leaning information community. That’s why he stresses the significance of nuance—one thing that may get misplaced when discussing loaded matters like politics and religion within the nation’s present local weather.

“Look, Fox Nation will not be Fox Information,” Leshem emphasizes. “It’s a very necessary distinction. Fox Nation is a streaming platform that has all types of programming on it. Particularly presently in America, it’s necessary for everybody to maintain an open thoughts.”

And in case you’re nonetheless on the fence, Leshem has a streaming-era gross sales pitch able to go. “When you’re within the present, pattern it by downloading Fox Nation for $6.99,” he advises with fun. “And When you don’t prefer it, cancel it! You possibly can join one of many 18 different subscription providers that I at present have.”

The story of how The Saints ended up at Fox Nation within the first place is so simple as a parable: They needed to make it. Getting that “sure” capped a seven-year journey for Leshem and Scorsese—though the latter has dreamed of telling tales concerning the saints for even longer.