Now that the second season is in the books, the man behind this streaming show about the life of Christ gives fans a look ahead.
After two seasons consisting of 16 total episodes, The Chosen has turned into a runaway success, garnering 222 million views around the globe according to the show's app. And we can expect tens of millions more once season three comes out.
No word yet on when that will be, but we now know that production should begin early next year. That comes from show creator/director Dallas Jenkins, who gave a status report in a livestream after the finale of season two over the weekend. He and his partners from Angel Studios are still raising money for the third season, which they do via a combination of merchandise sales and a pay-it-forward mechanism; impressively, they've already brought in more than half of the $18 million needed.
Some of those funds will go to help finish a new set and soundstage they are building near Dallas, TX, which will serve as the permanent home of the show for its remaining five seasons...Jenkins and his family are moving to the Lone Star State this month. And in an effort to both keep production levels high and better compensate cast and crew, the budget for the program continues to climb: an estimated $2 million-plus per episode next season versus $400,000 an episode during the inaugural season.
So what can we expect once Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus, and his fellow cast members return? According to Jenkins, the first episode of season three will continue with The Sermon on the Mount, which is where the finale of season two left off. One of Jesus' major miracles - the feeding of the 5,000 - is among other highlights, and there will be a further developing of the relationship between the Simon Peter character, played by Shahar Isaac, and his wife Eden (Lara Silva).
"Some of the Bible stories that you've been looking forward to are going to be coming in season three and we're really going to start building even more of the positive and negative consequences of what Jesus is doing...the tension continues to build. But also some great things are coming."
There will be new guest characters in the cast as well. But first, Jenkins and his fellow writers need to complete the scripts for all eight episodes, which they haven't yet done because he's been so busy finishing post production of season two. In fact, he admits that he is "spent" after such a busy year and is asking for prayers of support.
In the meantime, there will be other events related to the show, including social media chats with cast members - including one tonight - and what the director calls "a big Christmas special." Though he gave no details on that, they had a who's-who of the Christian contemporary music world playing songs for last year's Yuletide event, as we reported at the time. Christian Film Blog will keep you abreast of developments as we get them.
If you'd like to watch previous episodes of the show, you can do so on The Chosen app - Android / Apple - or on its website. You can also purchase show merchandise there and contribute to the Pay-It-Forward Program, both of which help fund future episodes, as we mentioned.
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