THE CHOSEN To Make Broadcast Television Premiere
By Movieguide® Contributor
The hit series THE CHOSEN will be broadcasting on live TV for the first time, beginning Sunday, July 16, at 8 p.m. ET on the CW.
THE CHOSEN is the first multi-season series about Jesus, portraying Jesus’ life and ministry as well the disciple’s stories. The CW will broadcast all three seasons.
President of the CW Network, Brad Schwartz, shared, “The Chosen is based on the biggest IP of all time and is truly a one-of-a-kind series that tells this historically significant story in a captivating, dramatic and premium way. This show has already connected deeply with viewers around the world, and The CW will expand its audience even further.”
THE CHOSEN was created by Dallas Jenkins, a film maker who had several disappointments before finding success with THE CHOSEN. In a YouTube interview with Pastor Isaiah Saldivar, Jenkins shares the supernatural story of how THE CHOSEN came to be. He had made many independent films at the start of his career, when in 2017 he released his first Hollywood film that was expected to be a hit. “The movie was made, and I was really excited about it and they [the production company] were really excited about it, and it bombed. Like a total failure at the box office.” He was devasted and thought that this would be the end of his career.
Jenkins explains how the devastation affected him.
“Maybe I’m not supposed to do this, maybe I’m not even supposed to be making movies” was his train of thought. One night while he was praying and crying with his wife, she told him “God is putting it on my heart… read the story of the feeding of the 5,000.”
As he read how Jesus was there for people in a moment of desperation, he felt comforted. He realized that in his pursuit to create something amazing, his job was to simply provide the loaves and fish. It was Jesus’s job to do the miracle. Then one night soon after that, as he was analyzing what went wrong with his failing movie, Jenkins received a Facebook message from someone he barely knew. The message said “Remember, your job is not to feed the 5,000, it’s only to provide the loaves and the fish.” Astounded yet baffled by the message, he asked the person why they sent it. They responded that God had told them to send it. Jenkins says that this moment “Changed his life forever.” This is what inspired him to continue film making and create THE CHOSEN.
The show has now come a long way from when it first streamed online in 2017 and is now reaching audiences all around the world.
The CW is broadcasted throughout the entire US. The only other time the show was broadcasted was for a one-time Christmas special in 2021 titled THE CHOSEN: THE MESSENGERS.
“As part of our global representation of this coveted property, we are pleased that The CW will become another great partner for The Chosen,” said Jim Packer, president of worldwide television distribution for Lionsgate. “This groundbreaking series already has a massive global following, and The CW platform will provide the perfect opportunity for the show to reach existing fans and inspire new ones.”
