Roma Downey, an Emmy-nominated actress and producer, has produced, directed or starred in multiple TV and film projects, including a nearly 10-year stint as the tender-hearted angel Monica on CBS’ hit series Touched By an Angel. Most recently, she is executive producer and star of The Baxters, a new TV drama series based on the best-selling novels by Karen Kingsbury.

A Career Centered on Faith 

Roma talked with the Register recently, sharing the story of The Baxters and her other faith-based projects. She said:

I have a call on my life to glorify God in my work. I’ve been producing faith-based content, I guess, since the launch of Touched By an Angel — which was 30 years ago now! (I must have been a child! I was a child actor!)

Before that, Downey explained, she was a person of faith; but she was also an actress who needed to pay the rent. She’d have been happy to play a lawyer or a waitress, or whatever jobs came her way.

But when the Touched by an Angel role showed up on my desk, I thought: ‘Is this real? Is this really going to be made? Is there really going to be a show that talks about angels?’

Faith has always played an important part in Roma Downey’s life. Roma reported that she’d been raised Catholic in Ireland; in fact, her older brother John was a Catholic priest.

She thought that if you were to ask the nun who once taught her religious education, she would probably admit that she’d considered Roma the last person who was likely to ultimately continue to live a life focused on faith.

But Downey was blessed in that she had the opportunity to express her faith through her films. She remembered that in her role as the helpful angel Monica in Touched by an Angel, each week she got to say, “There is a God; he loves you, and he wants to be a part of your life.” She wished that her parents had lived to see it, because she knew that they’d have been very proud of the direction her career took.

The Baxters: A Family That Prays Together 

Downey’s latest project, The Baxters series, follows Elizabeth Baxter (played by Roma Downey), her husband John (Ted McGinley), and their five adult children as they navigate life’s highs and lows. Downey explained how she’d been attracted to the story:

The best-selling [eight-volume The Baxters] series by Karen Kingsbury is a great book series; there are 25 or 26 million books in this series already in print! The first book was given to me by a friend, and I just couldn’t put it down. It was compelling — I just wanted to know more about the story. What happens next? Well, what’s going to happen next? It’s one of those books that keeps you up at night, and you regret reading for so long because when you wake in the morning, you’re tired!

Downey described the series as “a gorgeous ‘hope opera.’” As she read the story, she kept seeing it in her mind, imagining what the family looked like. Finally, she reached out to author Karen Kingsbury and asked her, “Please, will you entrust me with your beloved family series? I want to bring it to the TV!”

Roma was grateful that Kingsbury did permit her to convert the book series to a television series. “She and I have become great friends and great colleagues,” Roma said, “and I’ve consulted her a gazillion times, asking ‘Would it be okay to do this?’ and ‘Are you happy with that?’ or ‘Do you feel your fans would like this?’”

Roma believes that anyone familiar with Kingsbury’s popular series will recognize the stories; while for anyone who isn’t familiar with the books, it’s just great entertainment, great family television. And people of faith get to see their values reflected on the screen, as they watch stories about people who go to church, people who aren’t afraid to pray. “We don’t often get to see that anymore on television,” Roma said. “I can’t think of another series that deals with that.”

The first 10 episodes of The Baxters Season 1 are available exclusively on Prime Video. Roma said:

I encourage your readers, if they have a chance, to watch it with their families over Easter. It’s a family film! I sometimes run into people who say, ‘I remember …’ and what they’re nostalgic for is a family experience. So I encourage people, if you can, to gather a few of your family, curl up on the couch, make some popcorn and watch a few episodes.