The Chosen, a groundbreaking historical drama based on the life of Jesus as seen through the eyes of those who knew him, has become a global phenomenon with more than 250 million people viewing at least one episode worldwide since the pilot premiered in 2017. Beginning as the largest crowdfunded production of its day, The Chosen raised more than $11 million from 16,000 people to produce Season 1 and quickly transformed actor Jonathan Roumie as the face of Jesus around the world, endearing audiences to the human side of Jesus and that of his disciples as imagined by Dallas Jenkins, creator, director and founder of 5&2 Studios.

Season 5 is now streaming and focuses on the biblical events of the Holy Week before Easter, following Jesus’ final days from his triumphal entry into Jerusalem to his betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane with scenes from the Last Supper interspersed throughout. It’s theatrical release in May 2025 as The Chosen: Last Supper reportedly made more than $35 million in theaters, and the series continues to break records. Recognized in February by Guiness World Records, The Chosen is the most translated streaming series, with Season 1 now available in 125 languages, surpassing their previous record of 86 languages in September.

In a recent interview, Roumie said, “The Chosen has changed the way I live my life. Three months before I booked the role on the show, I went through a deeper spiritual conversion… but when you’re living your life for Christ, culturally that’s an unpopular thing, so it can be lonely and difficult to explain to people. For Christians, they’ll say, ‘You’re Jesus!’ And I remind them, only on TV — but I’m Jonathan right here and now.”

 

From crowd-funded project to global platform

During ChosenCon, a gathering of thousands of superfans at the Charlotte Convention Center in North Carolina on February 19 – 21, Jenkins announced plans to release the first six episodes of Season 6, which depict the moments from Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane through his crucifixion, in fall 2026, streaming on Prime Video and in The Chosen app. “The finale of Season 6 will be a supersized episode released as a global theatrical event all over the world in dozens of languages all at once in early 2027,” Jenkins added.

Roumie described the filming of Season 6 as “traumatic,” saying, “This is the hardest thing I ever did in my life, and it continues to affect me in ways I did not anticipate.” The scene he said affected him more than any other was the scourging, beating and crowning of Jesus, then being raised on the beam. “Hanging on that beam was catastrophically horrible, and I can’t even think about it without weeping. All I can think of saying is ‘Lord, I’m so sorry I did that to you, that I put you there. How can I be better? How can I serve you for the rest of my life?’ And that’s what I live my life trying to do.”

In a post on Ash Wednesday, Roumie said, “For me, Lent is a powerful opportunity to deepen my devotion through a season of intentional fasting, prayer and reflection.” He invited viewers to participate in a Journey to Holy Week by watching one episode of The Chosen each day leading up to Easter.

 

A spiritual resource

For those looking for a deeper understanding of the Scriptures, The Chosen series can help transport viewers back into the cultural time period of the Bible.

Omar Aleman, of Aleman and Associates, said it has been a game changer for his men’s Bible Study. They began using a three- to four-minute clip from the The Chosen as an introduction to help set the stage for each lesson, and “nothing has helped us get into the Word more.”

He said The Chosen has helped make the Scripture feel more personal and relatable.

“They see the apostles and the people around Jesus as fallen people, just like themselves,” Aleman said. Instead of thinking of the apostles as these perfect spiritual giants, they now see them as people who failed, struggled, and grew — just like us. It helped them move from just studying Scripture to actually seeing themselves in Scripture.” 

Aleman said it is the humanity of Jesus that really hit them—”how He laughed, how He got angry, how He suffered” that changed how they related to Him. “For instance, I don’t think any of them thought he had a sense of humor,” he added.

Calling themselves Brothers on a Mission, Aleman said, “Because we’re 12 guys, we joke that we’re the twelve apostles. And, of course, I’m always Peter because I say things I shouldn’t say and I’m always in trouble. It actually helped bond us as a group.” It also created a thirst not just to learn Scripture, but to walk where Jesus was, as the group hopes to travel to Israel together sometime soon.

 

Creative license

William “Bill” C. Davell, a director at Tripp Scott and member of Brothers on a Mission Bible Study, has watched every episode of The Chosen through Season 5 and said it has strengthened his faith by making the scriptures come alive for him and “filling in things we really don’t have answers to.”

“They’ve done a fabulous job casting the characters, and the knowledge of the writers to be able to weave all that together is pretty astounding.”

Davell said that during their Bible study, the question was often asked: What do you think it was like walking along the road with Jesus? “That’s what The Chosen shows us,” he said. “It gives you a little glimpse of maybe what it was like. “

Davell mentioned that Warren Gage, a Bible scholar and founder of Watermark Gospel, pointed out during their Bible study that Jesus would not have had women traveling along with him as is shown in The Chosen because women were treated differently in that time. “But it doesn’t bother me that it shows that,” Davell said.

As with any visual production, The Chosen adds backstories and some characters or dialogue with artistic imagination designed to support the truth and intention of Scripture. “This can be great to reach more people by putting it in story form,” said Steve Daigle, campus pastor at Calvary Chapel Parkland, “but I would always rather you read the Bible for yourself.” 

It’s the creative liberty that causes him to pause, saying “Whenever they add stuff that’s not really there, you don’t know if that was really the way things were. So, as a supplement to reading Scripture, it’s great. If it replaces the Bible, then not so much.”

“I think overall The Chosen has been deeply encouraging and faith-awakening for many people.” – Gary Colboch, lead pastor, Grace Church

Encouraging faith

However, Gary Colboch, lead pastor of Grace Church in Pompano Beach, said, “I think overall The Chosen has been deeply encouraging and faith-awakening for many people. My wife and I watched the entire series last year leading up to Easter, and we truly enjoyed the way it drew us in and brought humanity to the people in the Gospels. The scenery and visual effects were tremendous!”

While some have criticized the series for taking too many creative liberties, Colboch said, “I remind people that it never claimed to be a formal documentary. We felt the creators did a wonderful job in taking the stories of Scripture and remaking them for the restrictions and time constraints of television – that was quite an undertaking!  Certainly, I would encourage everyone to watch the series with discernment and compare it to Scripture.  I read somewhere that the creator himself stated, ‘The Chosen is a narrative drama meant to spark interest in the Bible, not replace it.’ Realizing that, I think the creators hit the bullseye of drawing people in, sharing the gospel, and whetting people’s appetite to read the Scriptures more. Overall, I feel the series aligns with the heart of the gospels and so, I would encourage people to watch it leading up to Easter. If you watch it with the right mindset, it will be very uplifting, thought-provoking, and will move people to a place of reflection.”

Stanley Goldenberg, a meteorologist and promoter of Christian films, said he’s watched every episode of The Chosen and really enjoys it. “For me personally, it makes me go to the Bible to see what they changed and what they got right. One of the ways I use it for outreach is to ask people if they’ve heard of The Chosen series. Many haven’t, so I encourage them to look up or download the app.  It’s a way to expose them to the gospel message in a unique way!”

In describing why he chose the series name, Dallas Jenkins said “The Chosen represents Jesus as the Chosen One, the Jews as God’s chosen people, and those whom Jesus chose to follow him.  The whole point of the show is that if you see Jesus through the eyes of those who knew him, perhaps you would be impacted in the same way they were.”

For more Good News, read the GOOD NEWS March 2026 Issue at: https://digital.goodnewsfl.org/2026/march/