The hit streaming show about Jesus has garnered hundreds of millions of views in two-plus seasons.
With episode 4 of Season 3 set to release this coming Sunday, The Chosen has already been viewed more than 413 million times. That is a massive success, particularly considering the series has thus far put out just 19 episodes since it launched in 2019 and has been financed largely by crowdfunding and donations so that it is free to watch.
Show creator and director Dallas Jenkins and his partners are not, however, resting on their laurels. They have set enormous goals for the faith-based program: to ultimately reach one billion people around the globe over the course of the planned seven-season run of the series.
In an effort to help achieve that, Jenkins announced in a recent online message to supporters that plans are afoot to translate The Chosen into 600 languages. Funding to cover the costs of that undertaking will come from the newly formed Come and See Foundation, a charitable organization which we reported on here. It aims to raise $40 million in donations for the production of Season 4, $2.9 million of which has come in so far.
All U.S.-based contributions are tax deductible and the foundation will match every one dollar-for-dollar in hopes of using the matching $40 million for "reaching new audiences," as its website puts it, meaning for marketing and the aforemetioned translation. The show's original fund-raising partners at Angel Studios are still running the pay-it-forward scheme - which is not eligible for tax deductions - that has largely paid production costs through Season 3.
The series' new app - available on these links to App Store / Google Play - where you can watch all episodes for free and contribute funds if you'd like, is owned by the Come and See Foundation and, going forward, will become the primary means to finance future seasons. You can find out more about the distinction between it and Angel Studio's funding program at the foundation's website under the FAQs heading near the bottom of the page.
As we mentioned above, the next episode of Season 3 releases on Sunday, January 1st, and we will have a preview in another article coming soon, so do check back in with Christian Film Blog.