The Chosen has, since debuting in 2019, become nothing less than a worldwide phenomenon, albeit one under the radar of widespread coverage in most ‘mainstream’ media outlets (with some exceptions), but worldwide has amassed an enormous global fanbase to the tune of some 250 million people who regularly watch the series, according to statistics, with another 700 million who have watched a clip of the show on social media or video-sharing platforms such as Youtube.
Created, co-written, and entirely directed to date by Chicago-based filmmaker Dallas Jenkins, and detailing the story of Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry as seen from the perspective of His disciples, followers, and even those who opposed him (both Romans and the Jewish religious authorities), the series has been mapped out for seven seasons of eight episodes each, with Season 5 due to debut theatrically in three respective installments of 2-3 episodes at a time from March 27th this year before being released to the show’s app.
What sets The Chosen apart from most other prestige television series is twofold; firstly, it is completely independently financed by crowdfunding methods, no studio or corporation has financed the series in any capacity, and it is solely by individual donations of around 104,000 people in 151 countries to date that the series receives its monetary backing; secondly, the series itself is given away for absolutely free and available to watch by anyone on the show’s official website and/or app without any fees or subscription required.
This revolutionary and unprecedented means of both funding and distribution is both highly risky but also laden with potentially significant rewards. Of the former, it means there is no guarantee of revenue streams aside from the good graces of devoted private backers, but of the latter, it also means complete creative independence on an artistic level.
Hollywood, despite its reputation – deserved or not – for being somewhat hostile to Christianity in general, has certainly taken notice of The Chosen’s ascent from obscure Christian series to a worldwide phenomenon that simply can’t be ignored, sidelined, or put into the safe ‘Christian media’ box, such as the ongoing God’s Not Dead film franchise, which while still profitable upon North American theatrical release, nonetheless remains very much a cinematic niche for a very defined and relatively small audience with no real international box-office appeal.
The Chosen has clearly broken through that glass ceiling and attracted some big-name fans such as Gwen Stefani and Dr Jordan Peterson. Indeed, it is been shown that somewhere between 30-40% of the show’s devoted fanbase are not even Christian, and that the series, by concentrating on the historical drama and characters of its first-century AD setting without diluting the inherent spiritual message, has gained a crossover appeal into the mainstream that most religious dramas would kill for.
One pitfall the series has avoided, unlike so many other shows these days (or even Mel Gibson’s polarizing The Passion of the Christ film back in 2004), is becoming a new front in the culture wars. Jenkins has assiduously avoided his creation entering that fray, and indeed has taken to social media video more than once to diffuse criticisms of the show from some (often within the more fundamentalist wing of the Christian community), stressing time and again both cast and crew alike of The Chosen hail from a wide array of cultural, ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds but all are as one family and dedicated to creating the best show they can… period.
The sense of overall goodwill towards The Chosen is a genuinely rare and remarkable thing in today’s politicized and divided media and cultural landscape. Between that, its unrivalled and aforementioned crossover appeal, and its pioneering means of funding and distribution all begs the question as to how high the series can soar… and perhaps, most pertinently, what lessons Hollywood can learn from it in the fullness of time.
Perhaps that’s an answer that only God knows…
