By Elizabeth Barhydt
Launched in 2018 as a bold expression of faith and cinematic ambition, The Chosen began as a crowdfunded experiment and quickly grew into the most successful crowd-funded TV series in history. Created, directed, and co-written by filmmaker Dallas Jenkins, it is the first multi-season dramatization of Jesus of Nazareth’s life, told through the eyes of those around him. That framing—intimate, character-driven, and deeply human—reshapes the Gospel into a serialized saga rather than a distant tableau.
What began as a short film sparked by Jenkins’s spiritual surrender—“share this story, not for ambition but to honor the Gospel”—grew into a sprawling seven-season arc that balances historical fidelity with emotional depth.
From a humble app-first distribution to global streaming partnerships, The Chosen has rewritten the metrics of faith-based television. It has reached hundreds of millions of viewers across more than 175 countries and has been translated into dozens of languages. In one dramatic acceleration, viewership leapt from 100 million to an additional 100 million in just over a year, reflecting a rapid and sustained global embrace.
Beyond raw numbers, the show has inspired spin-offs, interactive Bible studies, and a broader movement of devotional media. Its reach has extended from living rooms to classrooms, from parish halls to outdoor screenings, becoming a rare work of religious art that thrives both inside and outside traditional church structures.
Season 1 emerged in 2019, built entirely on grassroots crowdfunding. It has since been recognized as the most successful crowdfunded media project in entertainment history. Season 4 notably had a staggered theatrical rollout—eight episodes released in theaters during Holy Week before streaming—challenging conventional distribution models.
Season 5, titled Last Supper, continued that cinematic trend, debuting in cinemas around Easter before streaming first on Amazon Prime Video for three months, later becoming available on the show’s app and website. By blending the scale of a theatrical premiere with the accessibility of digital streaming, The Chosen has expanded the ways faith-based stories can find audiences.
Critics increasingly describe The Chosen as a movement, not merely a show—a modern evangelical epic elevating Jesus to mainstream entertainment and spiritual significance. Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus, has become a cultural touchstone in his own right, embodying a deeply relatable Christ: human, compassionate, authoritative, and quietly magnetic. His performance has sparked both devotional fervor and wider public conversation about how Jesus might be imagined in today’s culture.
The ripple effects are unmistakable. Major platforms have taken notice, and interest in biblical storytelling has revived across Hollywood. Studios once wary of overtly religious content now see new possibilities, spurred by the unexpected momentum of a project that began outside the studio system altogether. Even Mel Gibson’s long-gestating Passion of the Christ sequel has found renewed attention in this climate.
Part of what makes The Chosen beloved is its refusal to flatten the disciples into saints-in-waiting. Instead, we meet fishermen with tempers, tax collectors with conflicted loyalties, and women navigating courage and vulnerability. The series lingers in their humanity—brokenness, humor, doubts—and in doing so, invites viewers to find themselves in the story. For many, this is the first time a depiction of Jesus feels not just reverent, but relational.
Families gather to watch together. Congregations build small groups around it. People who have not opened a Bible in years are rediscovering it through a lens of narrative imagination. We love this show not only because it reintroduces us to familiar texts, but because it renders them alive again—urgent, tender, and deeply personal.
In a surprising and delightful turn, legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz created official portraits for Season 5, unveiled in Times Square. Known for her iconic work with cultural luminaries, Leibovitz lent her artistry to the Last Supper cast portraits, elevating the series into high art and cementing its crossover into mainstream culture.
Where historic biblical adaptations were once episodic or theatrical one-off films, The Chosen disrupted the model with serialized storytelling that is emotionally immersive and theologically resonant. Its humility in origin—and its ambition in execution—have made it a global phenomenon transcending demographics, media landscapes, and even theological divides.
The Chosen shows how a grassroots faith-based project can wield cultural power without sacrificing integrity or depth. As it strides toward its crucifixion arc in future seasons, its impact continues to unfold—at once spiritual, cultural, and profoundly modern.
