The Chosen wraps final scene: end of an era
The series about Jesus finished filming in Midlothian, Texas, after eight years and 528 days of production.
For eight years there was always another day of filming on the calendar. Not anymore. The Chosen finished filming its seventh and final season in Midlothian, Texas, according to RELEVANT Magazine.
Filming began in late April and wrapped at Camp Hoblitzelle, a property of more than a thousand acres south of Dallas where the team built a full replica of Capernaum starting in season three. Creator Dallas Jenkins moved his family to Midlothian to be near the set.
What began as a publicly funded pilot with no distributor now draws more than 300 million viewers worldwide. Jenkins recalled that before journalists: on the first day of shooting, he said, no one knew anyone would watch them. They were a small group of artists trying to make something work.
«The Gospels are still there, complete, no platform needed.»
"When we were on our first day on set, we didn't know anyone would be watching. We had no idea what the future held" (Sígueme translation). Eight years later, Jenkins said, they're still at it, with a bigger team and hundreds of millions of people watching.
The resurrection, the part that made him nervous
Season 7 covers the resurrection. Season 6, the crucifixion, arrives on Prime Video on November 15, and a theatrical version premieres on March 12, 2027. That part of the story was the one that worried Jenkins.
In the early seasons he stayed away from the supernatural because it's hard to capture well and he wasn't sure the series had the tools. "This season I've had to let go of some of that," he said. In seasons 6 and 7 there are supernatural things that have to be captured.
The scene that closes the story is the one that sustains the Christian faith: "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live" (John 11:25, ESV).
What eight years filming the Gospels left them
When asked what eight years filming the Gospels did to his own faith, Jenkins pointed to one thing: how intimate Jesus was with people. "I think this series has taught me, and it seems to have connected with viewers in the same way, that Jesus wants a personal relationship with you" (Sígueme translation).
On Saturday he posted a video from the wrap party. He talks about 528 days of filming, teary eyes and one word that keeps coming up: gratitude. He thanks God first, who gave rise to the project.
He also thanks his wife Amanda, who went through cancer during the years of the series, his children, the cast and the crew. And those who funded it with their money. "We're not funded by a big studio," he says.
What to watch after season 7
Jenkins isn't stopping at biblical stories. A miniseries about Joseph of Egypt, filmed last year, comes out early next year. A project about Moses enters a writers' retreat in November, and the animated Chosen Adventures is already underway. The long-term plan is the book of Acts.
First they'll take a break. They'll return "in a few years" to do it, he said.
If you also started reading the Bible because of this series, don't wait for season 7 alone. Find the person you watched it with, or someone who doesn't know it yet, and set a night a week to watch and discuss it. The Gospels are still there, complete, no platform needed.
Who did you watch it with, and who will you watch season 7 with?
