‘The Chosen’ Creator Shares How God Is Using Hit Series To Break Down Barriers

Dallas Jenkins, creator of “The Chosen,” reflected on the show’s enduring popularity and how God is using the biblical series to “break barriers” between unlikely people groups.

Now in its second season, “The Chosen” is the first multi-season series based on the life of Jesus Christ and the largest crowd-funded media project in history.

Since its premiere in November 2017, episodes of “The Chosen” have been watched over 150 million times and translated into over 50 languages.

“I genuinely was in a posture of, one day at a time, just doing what God wants for me,” he said.

But what has surprised and excited him most is who “The Chosen” has touched over the last four years.

“Early on, our primary audience was believers because that’s who was more attracted to a Jesus show,” he said. “But as the buzz has been building, we’re hearing all the time from atheists, agnostics, people in the industry — even the friends and family of our casting crews, many of whom are not believers themselves, who just loved the show as a regular show.”

“Hopefully,” he added, “it’s making them think more about who Jesus was and wanting to look more into it.”

“The Chosen” isn’t just impacting mainstream viewers; Jenkins said he’s heard countless stories of how the show has reached marginalized communities, from the elderly to those with special needs.

“One woman told me about her mom, who is in her 80s and has Alzheimer’s,” he recalled. “Her brain is, for all intents and purposes, gone. And yet every time ‘The Chosen’ comes on, she engages, she responds, she laughs. Her daughter told me that the show is their opportunity to reconnect with their mom because of Jesus. That was pretty extraordinary.”

Numerous parents of special needs children, he revealed, have shared how the show has ministered to their families.

“We hear about these young children with extreme special needs who, when they watch the show, light up. It doesn’t make sense because the show is complex. It’s not a simple, easy-to-follow Sunday school story. I believe that with this show, God is removing all these barriers and removing the scales from our eyes to allow us to see Jesus very clearly, from the very young to the very old.”

Season 2 of “The Chosen” was fully funded by November 2020, having received $10 million from 125,346 people. Episode six of the series premiered on Wednesday at the National Religious Broadcasters convention before an audience of over 1,300 fans in addition to a global livestream audience.