It seems as if the world of Hollywood has been taken by storm lately, with strike after strike occurring as writers and actors alike deal with recent changes to the film industry, mainly due to streaming services and the advancement of A.I. Joining the WGA (who have been on strike for over two months now), the SAG-AFTRA strike began at midnight on Thursday, July 13, and doesn't look to be ending any time soon. With countless productions getting shut down over this, at least one television series has been given the green light to continue production despite the strike: The Chosen.
Created by filmmaker Dallas Jenkins, who also happens to be the son of author Jerry B. Jenkins of Left Behind fame, The Chosen started with a Christmas special in 2017 titled "The Shepherd," which became the series' proof-of-concept during development. From there, the first half of Season 1 was crowdfunded and later released in April 2019, with the back half released later that November. Now in production on its fourth season (Jenkins has seven envisioned), The Chosen is still going strong. The show was picked up by The CW to be aired this summer, and the filmmakers behind The Chosen have recently made a distribution deal with Lionsgate to expand the series' reach.
RELATED: The 10 Best Episodes of 'The Chosen', So Far
What Is 'The Chosen' About?
If you've never heard about The Chosen before now, you may be wondering what this series is all about. Well, in short, it's a historical drama about the life and cultural impact of Jesus Christ (played masterfully by Jonathan Roumie, who recently starred in Jesus Revolution) through the eyes of the people who followed him. As the series progresses, Jesus reveals himself to others, namely the twelve disciples made up of fisherman Simon Peter (Shahar Isaac), religious disciple Philip (Reza Diako), tax collector Matthew (Paras Patel), political zealot Simon (Alaa Safi), his future betrayer Judas Iscariot (Luke Dimyan), and seven others.
Given the subject, The Chosen has a pretty expansive cast that also includes the likes of Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish), the Roman centurion Gaius (Kirk B. R. Woller), and wavering Pharisee Nicodemus, played by none other than Erick Avari. For the first two seasons, Jesus works to start and build his ministry as he performs divine miracles from the shadows, eventually revealing himself publicly by the end of the second season. In the third season, we watch as Jesus shares his power with his disciples, who then go out and do the same. While the crucifixion is impending, there's still a lot of New Testament ground to cover before the series gets there.
Unlike most media projects about Christ, The Chosen (which is the first multi-season series based on Jesus and the larger biblical narrative) makes its characters relatable, with real human issues that they're forced to deal with, repent of, and overcome. Likewise, Jesus himself feels more rounded and three-dimensional than other live-action versions, though Roumie (a devout Catholic himself) fights to remain faithful to Scripture. The Chosen has taken the world by storm, so it's no surprise that this show of all television series would be given the go-ahead to continue production amidst a strike as big as this one.
Why Is 'The Chosen' Still In Production During the Strike?
Prior to the strike, Jenkins and his team worked hard to secure the go-ahead to continue filming despite SAG-AFTRA's impending strike, but after not hearing back from the union before the strike officially began, they were forced to temporarily shut down. The series took to Twitter on July 13 to share the tough news with fans, explaining that they were unlikely to secure a waiver at this point. "God handles the rest," Jenkins said, opening the door for one more miracle. Then, one came. On July 16, The Chosen announced that they had been granted the exemption after all and that production on Season 4 would continue immediately.
To be clear, the series didn't go behind the union's back. Rather, they applied for an exemption generally granted to indie films not associated with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), and, given their strictly independent nature, they too fit the bill. Though the show does employ SAG actors, the series' penchant for crowdfunding allowed The Chosen this coveted exemption, thus preventing any halts in production. According to The Hollywood Reporter, who deemed The Chosen the first television series of its kind to attain this sort of exemption, production on Season 4 had already begun in Utah when they submitted their paperwork.
But why is The Chosen of all shows allowed to continue filming? Well, most television series are funded by a big-name studio associated with the AMPTP, whereas, despite working with SAG actors, The Chosen is an entirely independent production. Instead, the show receives its funding 100% from donations and private investors. When the series began, Angel Studios (then known as VidAngel) developed a model of "equity crowdfunding" that allowed the audience to technically own a portion of the project. Using this model, the first season of The Chosen was funded by fans-turned-investors before switching over to a more traditional crowdfunding model for subsequent seasons.
To this day, the series is still funded entirely independently of Hollywood via the fans of the show. Whether through The Chosen's official store, their "Pay-it-Forward" platform, or continual crowdfunding techniques, the series continues to be backed entirely by those who watch it. Thus, without any direct studio involvement (thus bypassing a huge reason actors are going on strike in the first place), The Chosen qualifies as an independent production and has been exempt from the greater impact of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
'The Chosen'Is The Number One Crowdfunded Media Project of All Time
Because of The Chosen's crowdfunding model, and the fact that it's a series entirely about Jesus, the show quickly became the largest crowdfunded media project of all time, raising over $10 million just during its first season and beating out former title-holder Mystery Science Theater 3000. Ever since, The Chosen continued the independent faith-based winning streak that Mel Gibson first claimed with The Passion of the Christ back in 2004, which itself is still the highest-grossing independent film of all time.
"The vast audience for high-quality, faith-based entertainment—all too often overlooked and underserved by Hollywood—made a loud and unmistakable statement that they’re so eager for content that resonates, they are willing to fund it into existence...," executive producer Matthew Faraci told Fox News back in 2019. Of course, The Chosen isn't the only highly-successful production produced by the independent Utah-based Angel Studios, especially as of late. In 2023, Angel Studios' human trafficking thriller Sound of Freedom, which stars Jim Caviezel, became a massive box-office success, pulling in over $90 million on a $14 million budget.
But beyond the scale of The Chosen's impressive funding capabilities, the series aims to reach at least a billion with messages of hope, faith, and salvation through Jesus Christ. Through the non-profit Come and See Foundation, every episode of The Chosen is being translated via dubbing into 100 different languages and via subtitles into more than 500. “We’ve come alongside Dallas Jenkins to fulfill the mission to reach the first 1 billion people with an experience of the authentic Jesus through The Chosen,” Come and See CEO Stan Jantz told the Colorado Springs Gazette. Hoping to be The Jesus Film for a new generation, The Chosen is expanding its reach as far as possible.
Where Can I Watch 'The Chosen'?
Unlike most television series, you don't have to pay to watch The Chosen. Due to the series' crowdfunding and Pay-it-Forward model, fans have already paid your way to watch this historical drama about the life of Christ. The entire series can be watched for free on The Chosen's website and the series' app, which is available on the Apple Store and Google Play for mobile users and on Roku, Amazon Fire, and AppleTV for streaming devices. In addition to watching the entire series, these mediums also give viewers free access to the official after-show, the Bible Roundtables, official series documentaries (such as Loaves & Fishes: The Making of Season 3), and more bonus material.
However, if you're already subscribed to a number of streaming services, you may be able to find episodes of The Chosen there too. All three seasons are available for streaming on Amazon Prime, which is the only paid service currently streaming every episode. Also owned by Amazon, the series can also be streamed in its entirety on Freevee (formerly IMDbTV), which, as the name suggests, is free with ads. Additionally, the first two seasons of The Chosen can be streamed on Peacock and Fubo, while only the first season can be streamed on Netflix, Vudu, Tubi, and others.
On occasion, The Chosen even releases its content theatrically. The first was for a Christmas special in 2021 titled Christmas With The Chosen: The Messengers. This special release included an exclusive episode of the series as well as musical performances highlighting the Nativity story. According to The New York Times, the special earned $13.5 million at the box office, setting a new record for Fathom Events, who distributed the project. Additionally, the first two episodes of Season 3 debuted in theaters ahead of their digital release and out-grossed various Hollywood features during its opening weekend, including Black Adam. Likewise, the two-part Season 3 finale was released in theaters in early 2023, making over $5 million worldwide.
But if you're interested in watching the series live on television, then we have some more good news for you. On July 16, the same day the SAG-AFTRA strike began, The Chosen premiered on The CW. Despite the fact that it can easily be viewed elsewhere, the series raked in 520,000 viewers during its 90-minute premiere, beating out summer airings of Riverdale, Nancy Drew, and other CW staples. The Chosen continues to air Sunday nights at 8/7c on The CW, which will be airing all three seasons on television.
