My teen years were inundated with “Jesus” movies. With few exceptions (i.e., Mel Gibson’s, “The Passion”), most films about the man from Nazareth tend to blend together, with one Jesus movie not really distinguishing itself from the next.
When “The Chosen” first began popping up on my radar towards the end of 2019, I dismissed it like I had all of its predecessors. However, this TV series didn’t fade away like the others had; in fact, I found more and more people I personally knew (and reviewers I trusted) recommending that I give the series a fair shake. I’ll admit, I was pretty skeptical.
Most films/series on Christian subject matter are either so obsessed with putting their message first, that they become narratively tone-deaf attempts at a plot, fumbling around with clunky dialogue and wooden characters or they’re made by companies with little regard for the spiritual messages of Christianity and don’t really have anything meaningful to say at the end of the day. It is extremely difficult to find visual Christian content that understands both the medium and it’s message well. I was fearful of getting my hopes up; but, curious,I took the plunge anyway.
Season One of “The Chosen” (directed by Dallas Jenkins) spends it’s time looking at the world of the New Testament through the eyes of the people who encountered or traveled with Jesus, and Jenkins sets a unique tone with his storytelling in the very first episode. While a good deal of the characters appearing in episode one are familiar New Testament standbys (Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, Peter, etc), almost none of the action containing these characters is ever directly told in the Bible; at best, some of it is alluded to. While more of the direct biblical narrative is gradually introduced as the series progresses, the traditional, biblical narrative is not the driving thrust of the series. In fact, Jesus doesn’t even show up until the last 3 minutes of the first episode. The writers are far more interested in creating and fleshing out real, believable traveling companions for Jesus with backstories and personalities than in strictly keeping to a 1:1 ratio of the biblical account. And, for the most part, they pull this off incredibly well.
Rather than quickly note that Matthew was a tax collector, they spend time focusing on why he was a tax collector and his unique personality. They explore what kind of trouble Peter was getting into before he met the Rabbi that changed his life. What kinds of conversations did Peter have with his wife after he met Jesus the first time? What was Mary Magdalene’s life like prior to meeting Jesus? What kinds of thoughts were swirling through Nicodemus’s head as he started to realize who this man from Nazareth could be?
These are things the Bible never explicitly tells us, nor does it need to (for that’s not the point of the Bible’s narrative); but it’s precisely what makes up the fertile soil of storytelling. The creators of the show tap into this fertile soil and, for better or worse, the peripheral surroundings of the gospel story is the focus of the show.
They do end up following the threads of the New Testament accounts, but not before taking the long-way ‘round with backstory and character development. With this careful attention to time and detail the actual biblical accounts become much more grounded in reality and believable rather than simple vignettes without much context. The show spends more time following the biblical text toward the end of season one, but it’s actually here that I found the writing was the weakest; the creators are much more adept at sculpting new narratives from familiar characters than they are retreading old ground.
There are a couple rough places here and there where the dialogue flounders a bit or the costumes are more akin to freshly opened outfits from Party City than the weathered armor of a real Roman centurion, but (especially with the costumes) the creators note their shortcomings as the show progresses and do try to course correct over season one. It’s also worth noting that “The Chosen” is almost entirely crowdfunded (some have claimed it’s the most crowd funded show ever produced).
My verdict? I found myself pleasantly surprised with the care Jenkins & co., exercised toward the accounts of Jesus's life and companions. They fleshed out mini stories and struggles that made these peoples’ lives believable and made the reasons they followed Jesus personal. There were several instances that had me tearing up from seeing the spiritually significant stories I love being treated properly on screen in a way in which I could connect with the ancient characters. As stated before, it’s a little rough around the edges at times and given that their writing begins to taper off slightly as season one nears its end, I’m somewhat wary of how season two will go. Time will tell.
If you’re looking for just another series on the Gospel accounts, I’ve got a few dozen movies I could point you to (all of which are about the same). But if you’re looking for a fresh look at the man called Jesus through the eyes of the everyday people who followed him, “The Chosen” is a breath of fresh air.
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