The hit series about the life of Christ will launch production in about fortnight.
To say that last year's inaugural season of The Chosen was a hit would be quite an understatement: it literally became a global phenomenon. The program, which is the all-time crowdfunding leader among media projects, has heretofore garnered 57 million views in 180 countries.
According to Dallas Jenkins, the man behind the show, fans are clamoring for more. And they will, no doubt, be glad to learn that he and his cast and crew will launch production in about two weeks in Utah. The Christian director recently told investors that he and the team will spend the next two months there at a fantastic ancient Jerusalem mock-up studio shooting the bulk of season two. They will then move to a location in Texas to finish off what's left, including the scene of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and perhaps even bit of season three.
Jenkins and his partners from the VidAngel streaming platform are still raising money, having taken in $8.3 million of the $10 million needed for production, most of which has come from the show's Pay-it-Forward program of donations; that's the same mechanism that now allows people to watch it for free. Jenkins says that the eight episodes will be shot for about $1 million each, compared to an average of $5 million for most TV shows, and that the overall cost of season two has gone up because of the coronavirus-related safety measures.
That will tack an additional $750,000 onto the aforementioned $10 million total and allow for regular testing - at least twice a week - physical protection gear, distancing measures, et cetera, for everyone who will be on set: that's as many as 150 people per day. Jenkins emphasizes the necessity of spending that kind of money, however, by pointing out that any infections could shut down production, which would cost much, much more.
If all goes according to plan, he hopes to release at least the first episode of season two by Easter of next year, and there's a chance the next three episodes as well, meaning the whole first half of the eight-episode season. Christian Film Blog will keep you abreast of developments as we get them.
In the meantime, if you'd like to contribute to the show's Pay-it-Forward program, you can do so via this link. And to watch The Chosen, click here. Oh, and Jenkins asked for prayer for the health of the father of one of the cast members. The situation is so serious that the actor - whom he did not name - may need to leave to show to be with his ill parent, so tap into your prayer network and let's all bring this before the Lord.