NEED TO KNOW
- The series The Chosen — which released select seasons in movie theaters — has grossed over $140 million worldwide
- PEOPLE caught up with series creator Dallas Jenkins to hear why he thinks the show has had such mainstream success
- Season 5 episodes will debut on Prime Video on June 15
The series The Chosen, which released select seasons in theaters, has grossed an “extraordinary” $140 million worldwide, per Deadline.
Created by Dallas Jenkins, the show first premiered in 2017 and offers a fresh perspective on the life of Jesus Christ, focusing on realistic, grounded portrayals of the people in his inner circle.
PEOPLE recently spoke to Jenkins, 49, about the show, as well as why he thinks the series has reached a mainstream audience despite faith-based projects traditionally achieving smaller, more niche success.
“I think it’s pretty extraordinary for a TV show,” Jenkins said. “It is just really cool to see a television show, especially a first century historical drama, get recognized in popular culture as something that is worth seeing on its own merits, not just as a niche Jesus project that churchgoers can appreciate on a weekend.”
“I think that the theatrical release and the Amazon release and Annie Leibovitz’s photography and debuting it in Times Square [were] not our goals. […] We don’t … have the goal of box office success and we don’t have any goals other than to just make the best show that we can,” he added.
“But those things are markers and indicators that what we’re doing, I guess, belongs at the table of popular culture, [when] previously projects that are biblical or would be considered faith-based [would have been] considered to be niche projects for niche audiences.”
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“And we’re really excited about the fact that people are just watching it as a television show. And whether you’re a believer or a churchgoer or not, this is a project that’s worth watching and enjoying as a historical drama,” he added.
Jenkins went on to say that the overwhelming response to the show is an indicator that people are responding to it on a human level, and not “like they’re doing church homework.”
The director also shared that while the most recent season, which focuses on the week of the Last Supper, was produced on a much grander scale, the creative process behind the scenes was essentially the same as it’s always been.
“Our approach isn’t any different [in season 5]. We’re still focusing on the intimate, the personal, the organic, the authentic relationships. It’s just on a much bigger scale now because we’re in Jerusalem and a million people are all gathered, all [Jesus’] enemies, all his friends are all gathered along with the religious leaders and the Roman occupiers in one place in the course of one week.”
As for the overarching theme of the latest season?
“Can you trust and follow even when you don’t understand?” Jenkins asked. “The disciples do not understand what is happening. Jesus is, in fact, telling them what is going to happen.”
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While all eight episodes of The Chosen season 5 have played in theaters, fans will soon be able to watch the full season at home.
The first two episodes of The Chosen season 5 will debut on Sunday, June 15, on Prime Video. The rest of the season will premiere over the following two Sundays, with three new episodes dropping on June 22, and the final three episodes debuting on June 29.
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