ABC’s biblical epic ‘Of Kings and Prophets’ hasn’t a ratings prayer against ‘Little Big Shots’

You don’t need to be a prophet to see that ABC’s new biblical series has an epic ratings problem.

“Of Kings and Prophets,” the long-awaited drama that retells the Old Testament stories of King Saul and the warriors of Israel, came tumbling down in the ratings at 10 p.m. Tuesday, premiering to just 3.3 million total viewers, according to Nielsen.

Among the crucial demographic of adults aged 18 to 49, “Kings” drew a less-than-regal 0.8 rating -- the lowest number for any network series premiere this season, except for those that ran during lightly-trafficked Friday slots.

Maybe the Bible is just less of a draw these days than kids saying the darnedest things.

“Kings” was competing against a special preview of NBC’s “Little Big Shots,” a new talent show in which host Steve Harvey interviews small children with some sort of gift or ability that looks destined to make them go viral on the Internet.

“Big Shots” -- a modern update of “Kids Say the Darnedest Things,” the show popularized by Art Linkletter and, later, pre-scandal Bill Cosby -- opened huge, with 12.7 million total viewers and a 2.9 rating/10 share among viewers 18 to 49.

In fact, it was the biggest premiere for a non-scripted series since Fox’s “The X Factor” nearly five years ago.

Thankfully for ABC, “Big Shots” will move to its regular time slot on Sundays, so it won’t be airing against “Of Kings and Prophets.” So some network executives’ prayers will get answered.

What did you think of “Kings” and “Little Big Shots”?

Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT