"Life Triumphs Over Death": "The Chosen" Creator Dallas Jenkins On What Fans Can Expect From Seasons 4 And 5

�The Chosen� creator Dallas Jenkins opened up about Season 4, 5, and what
fans can expect as the hit faith-based series gets back to filming.

Speaking to The Daily Wire, the creator of the series � which explores the
life of Jesus through those who were closest to him � talked about the unique
legal and financial challenges the series has faced with releasing Season 4
to the streaming site after releasing the season exclusively in theaters
earlier this year.

Jenkins has been very transparent with his audience throughout the entire
delay and says it has been, �painful and no one has been more frustrated
about it than I am.�

�But I do promise that Season 4 is going to be very impactful, if you haven�t
seen it yet,� he added. �And that in a few years when you look back you�re
not going to remember these couple of months that we didn�t want to wait.�

In a press release on Wednesday, �The Chosen� announced the first episode of
Season 4 will be available for streaming beginning on Sunday, June 2, with
the second episode coming out the following Thursday, June 6.

�The wait is finally over,� Dallas Jenkins, creator, producer, director and
writer of the hit series said in the release.

�The response from those who�ve seen Season 4 in theaters was that this is
our best season, so I can�t wait to deliver these episodes free and easy to
the world,� he added.

�We wanted to offer fans a chance to see it on the big screen together in
theaters,� Jenkins continued. �But I�ve maintained the show will always
ultimately be available free and easy, and we�re now ready for our
livestreams, which are going to be bonkers this year.�

SEASON 4
�The Chosen� first three seasons were all available for fans to watch on the
show�s app and stream for free with a message about paying it forward. Season
4 was the first time they opted to release it first exclusively in theaters.
Jenkins said doing so helped with funding the show so that they can provide
it for free to stream.

�Releasing it in theaters first not only allowed us to give the fans a great
experience, and allowed those who were willing to pay for it to to see it on
the big screen and to see it in community which is important to a lot of
people, see it in the way that we really intended it,� the creator said.

�But it was also able to give us a little bit of a financial boost and we
have to come up with creative ways to do that when we have a show that�s
ultimately free and the people don�t have to pay for it if they don�t choose
to,� he added. �So, when people are willing to do that, we want to definitely
take advantage of that because we need it. We have a lot of money to raise, a
lot to finance. We don�t have a studio or streaming platform that�s financing
this whole operation.�

Season 4 is an emotional one with the feeling of impending doom surrounding
Jesus and his followers. Jenkins talked to us about how he tries to strike a
balance between the difficult parts of the greatest story in human history �
about �life triumphs over death and good triumphs over evil� � and how vital
it is for the audience to relate to Jesus� disciples.

�But every good story also is not going to shy away from the pain,� Jenkins
said. �And the pain and the sadness, and the impending doom is a part of
life. I think it�s essential for audiences to go through with us.�

�Because maybe there�s some who don�t want to go through some of that pain
but I think for others, they need to, they want to because they want to be
able to relate to this story and to these people and to know that that the
followers of Jesus in history, the builders of the early church � were human
beings just like us,� he added.

�And they struggled just like we did and they have questions just like we
do,� Jenkins continued. �And they experience poverty, oppression, and racism,
and tribalism, and hardships and health problems just like we do. And that is
so essential for the audience to understand and to know. Because when they
relate to that then the answer and the hope that is provided can apply to
them too.�

SEASON 5
Production on Season 5 has begun with more than three weeks so far of filming
in Utah where 600 extras, from all over the world, were on set everyday for
three weeks.

As for what fans can expect from Season 5, the creator of the series
confirmed it�s going to be about Holy Week. Jenkins said that, just as the
Gospel of Luke references the resoluteness of Jesus during the Passion Week,
those working on the series have �absolutely� felt that same sense of resolve
and urgency.

�The filming of Season 5, we are a few weeks into it, and it has really been
overwhelming,� Jenkins said. �For three weeks we had 600 �Chosen� fans per
day on set in first-century costumes participating with us in some of these
immensely important and life-changing events from scripture during Holy Week.
The most impactful week in the history of the world.�

�Week one we filmed Jesus arriving in Jerusalem for Holy week and the actors
were overwhelmed,� he added. �Several of them would come back after a take
with tears streaming down their face talking about how humbling it was to see
600 people waving palm branches and chanting and singing and Romans on
horseback and this big Jerusalem set that we�re filming on I mean it felt
like we were in the first-century.�

�That�s happened a few times, filming moments from Holy Week, historical
moments that were so impactful,� Jenkins continued. �Getting a chance to
recreate those and see them in real time really is jaw dropping. And having
the fans there with us and crying during some of these scenes, and supporting
us and telling us that the show has changed their lives, is the fuel for us.

Jenkins couldn�t say whether all of Season 5 will be first released in
theaters exclusively. He added that �it�s very likely they will release the
entire thing in theaters first, but hopefully next time around there won�t be
a delay in the streaming.�

As the creator of the hit series, Jenkins will often say �something special
is happening on the set of �The Chosen,�� and he told The Daily Wire that is
already evident during the filming of Season 5.

Obviously, Jesus� character (played by Jonathan Roumie) is going to have a
huge impact in the upcoming season, but another character he said the
audience is going to get a deep dive into is Judas (played by Luke Dimyan).

Jenkins said during a press conference he loves looking into how Jesus�
followers didn�t know it was Judas who betrayed him.

�How they wrestle with the fact that something bad is happening,� Jenkins
said. �Jesus outright told the disciples one of you will betray me. How did
this impact Judas? Who is it that Judas first approached? Specifically, the
Romans, the religious leaders? How did it happen without the disciples
knowing. The betrayal in Season 5 is really exciting and heartbreaking.�

Popularity Growing
The creator of the series also talked about its growing popularity, noting
that when singers like Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani post on X about
watching and loving the show, news outlets have to pay attention.

Shelton recently took to X and wrote to his 19 million followers, �Random two
thumbs up from a country singer� Just finished season 3 of �The Chosen� and I
absolutely love it. No question in my mind why it�s a worldwide phenomenon.�
Stefani added, �[BlakeShelton] Obsessed, Can�t wait for season 4
[thechosenTv] u better not watch w out me!! Gx.�

�� they aren�t journalists, but when the Kardashians and Gwen Stefani, Blake
Shelton are tweeting about how much they love the show, at some point it
[success] becomes undeniable and at some point, whether you are a mainstream
or faith-based journalist, you can�t deny what�s growing,� Jenkins said
during a press conference later.

With over 200 million viewers, �The Chosen� is one of the most-watched shows
in the world, a press release noted. The series is consistently a top
performer across streaming platforms Amazon Prime, Peacock, and Netflix plus
a top-rated broadcast weekly on The CW.

SEASON 6
Looking ahead, Season 6 will deal entirely with the crucifixion and Season 7
the resurrection. Jenkins, who didn�t want to get ahead of the current season
they are working on, did say that he recently read the script for episode one
of Season 6 and could say that, �I�m absolutely just telling you we are doing
it in a way that�s never been done.�

�And it�s really going to blow people away,� he added. �These last few
seasons I think are not only going to be the best seasons but they are going
to justify the time that we have taken to set them up with the first four
seasons.�

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Let's go Brandon!