"The Chosen" Will Re-Launch Production This Year

Plans are coming together for season two of the faith-based series about the life of Christ.

Actors Kian Kavoushi, Jonathan Roumie, Elizabeth Tabish and George Xanthis (left to right) in a scene from season one. Image: "The Chosen"/Instagram.

Since the eight-episode inaugural season of The Chosen was released last year, the independent production has been viewed nearly 47 million times and generated a global audience. Despite that success, as we reported earlier this month, plans for the next season were up in the air and the show's creator and director, Dallas Jenkins, had more questions than answers.

Being a committed Believer, however, he devoted himself to a time of prayer in order to "fully surrender" to God, as he put it. And Jenkins now says the Lord is showing the way forward, because, "doors have started to open, walls have started to come down."

Dallas Jenkins displays a poster for the show during a previous call with investors. Image: "The Chosen"/YouTube.

In a message to investors, Jenkins announced that he and his team will shoot the first half of season two this fall, though they still need to settle on a location, with spots in Utah and Texas among those in the running. And he's hopeful he will be able to release those four episodes before Easter of next year.

Aside from the location, the other big question is financing. The show's Pay-It-Forward program - its primary fund-raising mechanism - has generated $6.6 million heretofore, which was thought to be enough to shoot five of season two's eight episodes...the total tab was $10 million. But planned safety protocols related to the coronavirus will inflate those numbers, likely necessitating a new round of crowdfunding investment.

On the positive side of the ledger, there are only two remaining episodes still to be written for this next season and Jenkins and his fellow writers are already looking forward, intending to meet at the end of August to map out the rest of the series, all the way through season seven. Also, once they settle on a location for production, which should become the show's permanent home, the plan will be to shoot all the remaining seasons over the course of just three years.

Clearly exciting times for The Chosen, which is good news for its millions of fans around the world. If you haven't seen the show yet, it's free and you can find out how to access it via this link, or make a donation to keep it free and fund future episodes by visiting the Pay-It-Forward plan here.