‘The Chosen’: Record-breaking TV series about Jesus to begin taping second season despite pandemic

Originally published in The Christian Post

The first-ever multiseason show about Jesus, The Chosen, was officially given the green light to begin production of season two.

VidAngel, a streaming company that allows users to filter language, nudity and other content from mainstream entertainment, announced on Thursday that the company’s groundbreaking original series The Chosen will be returning for a second season. Kicking off production in September, season two will “explore the building of Jesus’ group of disciples and the personal and interpersonal pros and cons of Jesus’ growing notoriety as they take their ministry on the road,” the company said.

“Between COVID-19 and the fact that we’re doing this outside the system, it has been a challenge to know exactly how and where we can produce season two for the fans. But those are also the reasons we feel such urgency to get the stories of Jesus to the world as soon as possible. Our fans’ generosity is allowing us to overcome these hurdles,” said Dallas Jenkins, director of The Chosen.

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The first installment has been seen by nearly 50 million people in 180 countries and has been translated into over 50 languages.

In an interview with The Christian Post in February, Jenkins, the son of Christian novelist Jerry Jenkins of the Left Behind series, said he and his team worked really hard to make sure the series drew viewers into the stories told.

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“I think the style of the show is such that it doesn’t feel like it’s formal or staged, or emotionally distant. So I think people who aren’t even necessarily believers can still appreciate it because I think they’re interested to see stories about these people who lived 2 000 years ago,” Jenkins explained. “I don’t think you necessarily have to believe Jesus is the Son of God to actually still enjoy the show. However, we’re seeing so many people who watch the show, and then are compelled to find out more from the Gospels.

At the top of 2019, The Chosen became the No. 1 crowdfunded media project in history. It now has R330.7-million ($20-million) in crowdfunding.

“When the idea was offered to use [The Shepherd] to raise crowdfunding for this series, I laughed. And I thought, ‘That’s ridiculous. That’ll never work.’ But I was in that place in my life where I was thinking, it’s not my job to feed the 5 000,” Jenkins told The Christian Post during a set visit in Dallas, Texas, while episodes one through four of the first season were in production.

Season one features eight episodes and can be viewed on The Chosen free app.

The announcement for the next season was discussed via livestream. Jenkins and the series star, Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus, both answered questions and spoke of their excitement for the new season.

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