In this month's faith and family media news: Martin Scorsese brings new Saints to Fox Nation and is featured in an AppleTV documentary series; new season of Wingfeather Saga; and NBC showcases Wicked.
Mr. Scorsese and His Saints
Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese has had a long, complicated relationship with the Catholicism of his youth. In June 1017, he screened Silence, his drama about 17th-Century Jesuit missionaries in Japan, for Catholic press in Quebec City.
After the screening, he participated in a Q&A about his films, including the controversial Last Temptation of Christ, based on a novel by Nikos Kazantzakis.
You can read more about that here.
The journalists, myself included, also went to Mass at Cathedral-Basilica of Notre Dame of Quebec. Scorsese came in by a side door, attended the Mass, and slipped out the same way.
Mr. Scorsese
In the new, five-hour AppleTV series Mr. Scorsese, the now 82-year-old filmmaker talks to director Rebecca Miller about his life, from the tough streets of New York City through his long career.
Many of his collaborators -- from Steven Spielberg to Robert De Niro -- also speak, in new interviews and archival footage.
It's evident that the Church and one priest in particular had a huge influence on the young Scorsese. Like many during the 1960s, he drifted away from his faith, but it's evident that Catholicism remains in his mind and heart.
While Scorsese's demeanor in the interviews is gentlemanly, his films often are not, so there is some language and discussion of rough material in the series. But for those interested in Scorsese's influences and films, it's a valuable resource.
Martin Scorsese Presents The Saints
The latest manifestation of Scorsese's fascination with the Church continues on Nov. 16, with the premiere of Season 2 of Martin Scorsese Presents The Saints, his docudrama series for streamer Fox Nation (we covered Season 1 here).
As with Season 1, the episodes are split into two sections. The first group streams weekly from Nov. 16 to Dec. 7, and a second batch premieres in 2026.
The first episode features Saint Patrick; while the Dec. 7 episode (directed by Scorsese's daughter, Francesca Scorsese) focuses on the recently canonized Saint Carlo Acutis.
Angel's The Wingfeather Saga Continues
Season 3 of Angel Studios' hit animated series The Wingfeather Saga, subtitled The Ice Prairies, launches Nov. 12, exclusively streaming on Angel's platforms.
Based on Andrew Peterson's bestselling fantasy novels, it follows a family in the imagined world of Aerwiar.
Joining the cast are David Oyelowo (Selma, Silo), Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon, Dances with Wolves), and Henry Witcher (The Wild Robot), who will be featured alongside returning fan favorites Jodi Benson, Kevin McNally, Alkaio Thiele, and Matthew Rhys, amongst others.
Here's the synopsis of Season 3:
Season 3 propels audiences deeper into the world of Aerwiar as the Wingfeather family faces its greatest trials yet. Separated from his family, Janner journeys with his friend Maraly across the perilous Stony Mountains toward the frozen Ice Prairies, pursued by monsters and things best left in the shadows.
Beneath the tundra lies the fabled city of Kimera, a place of both hope and danger, while Kalmar, betrayed and captured, endures imprisonment in the dungeons of the Phoob Islands. Across these frozen frontiers, the family’s courage and loyalty will be tested as a new evil rises.
Currently streaming on Angel is The Wingfeather Saga: The Journey Begins, a "a reimagining of the first two seasons as one epic cinematic adventure."
NBC Gets Wicked
On Nov. 6, NBC presents Wicked: One Wonderful Night, a two-hour special featuring performances by the film's stars Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Ariana Grande (Glinda).
Joining them are co-stars from Wicked: For Good, the conclusion of the two-part feature-film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical (itself adapted from a novel, loosely inspired by L. Frank Baum's Oz stories).
Wicked: For Good premieres Nov. 21 around the world.
While the special is likely fine for the whole family, the same can't be said of the first movie -- or, from the look of its trailer, the sequel.
As our writer Josh M. Shepherd explained last year, the original novel is absolutely off-limits for youngsters, and he recommended the movie be limited to those 10 years old and up. There are plenty of intense scenes and some very dark imagery in the trailer above, so I suspect what Shepherd said about Wicked can also be said of Wicked: For Good.
Image: Fox Nation
Kate O’Hare, a longtime entertainment journalist, is Social Media Content Manager and Blog Editor at Family Theater Productions.
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