Much like the crowds of devotees who gathered around Jesus of Nazareth, a fervent throng of fans now surrounds The Chosen, the biggest Biblical TV hit you’ve never heard of.
To jump down The Chosen rabbit hole is to consistently find new strange facts about the dramatic retelling of the story of Christ. Its showrunner, Dallas Jenkins, is a Midwest-born evangelical director and the son of Jerry Jenkins, the author who co-wrote the widely popular, Book of Revelation-inspired Christian novel series Left Behind. After years of failed attempts at making it big in Hollywood, Jenkins finally got the idea for The Chosen while treadmilling and bingeing The Wire, HBO’s gritty drama on the narcotics and law enforcement scene in Baltimore: Why not tell the story of Jesus, but tell it like The Wire?
At first, no one seemed to want Jenkins’ plucky, raw drama about Christ and his apostles. However, after teaming up with Angel Studios Inc., a Mormon media company known for producing clean, religious home videos, the studio came up with the idea of setting up a Kickstarter campaign to fund production. In its first round of crowd funding alone, they raised a whopping $11 million — allegedly setting a record for any film or TV project.
And what did Jenkins create? While perhaps not the most accurate Biblical retelling — Jenkins has gone on the record saying that around 95 percent of the show isn’t directly from Scripture — The Chosen is arguably one of the more daring interpretations of Christ’s story out there. Shooting its first season in the deserts of rural Texas (or I mean, Judaea and Galilee), The Chosen begins with Jesus trying to round up his disciples and spreading the word of God. From there, Jenkins and his team take a number of liberties with the 2,000 year-old story. Mary Magdalene gets a fleshed out backstory, complete with an alcohol addiction. Roman soldiers speak with American accents, and much of the cast uses 21st-century colloquialisms like “okay.” Simon arguably gets more screentime than he does in the original text, with Jenkins positioning the apostle as the “James Kirk” of the story (okay, Star Trek reference).
“BINGE JESUS”
Despite deviating from Scripture and inevitably drawing a few grumpy naysayers grumbling about Biblical inaccuracies in the corner, The Chosen has far exceeded all expectations. This underdog of a show now has over 280 million viewers worldwide, with most discovering it through word of mouth. It also made history as the first series to screen its seasons in theaters, with its fourth season bringing in $63 million in theatrical sales in 2024. Its latest season, set to hit theaters around the world starting April 10 (including the Philippines), is expected to generate similar buzz, especially as it covers the pivotal events of Holy Week or, as Jenkins calls it, “the most important and influential week in human history.”
“Perhaps the most surprising aspect of The Chosen’s success is the incredibly devoted fan base it has built. Celebrities like Gwen Stefani and Whoopi Goldberg have praised the show, while cast members have appeared on a wide range of talk shows, spanning across the cultural spectrum. Jonathan Roumie, the dry-humored, sad-eyed actor who plays Jesus, has been featured on both The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and The Tucker Carlson Show. The show’s top-selling merchandise? T-shirts emblazoned with the bold slogan “BINGE JESUS,” which thousands of fans proudly wear to ChosenCon, the convention born from the show’s massive popularity. Fans have even paid to appear on the show, with 9,000 of them each shelling out $1,000 to be extras in Season 4, when they gathered to listen to Jesus at the Sea of Galilee.
Say what you will about The Chosen, but no one can deny the cultural impact the show has made on its millions of viewers. In a world where the intersection of faith, media, and entertainment can often be contentious, The Chosen has proven that people are more than willing to binge a story about Jesus.
