'The Chosen' Season 3: Following Jesus Isn't About Having an Easy Life

Since The Chosen debuted in 2017 it has quickly gained a reputation for revolutionising both the method and style of faith-based storytelling.

Funded by viewers and distributed through its own app and streaming platform, The Chosen tested new ways to engage audiences from the ground up, and what appetite they have for a narrative about Jesus and his disciplines that extends beyond a verse-by-verse recreation of scripture.

With the release of Season 3 upon us, an expected four more in the pipeline, and almost 430 million views of current episodes to date, it’s fair to say the appetite is high.

Watch: Hope 103.2 interviews with cast and crew
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“So many Jesus movies and miniseries before have focused on one thing,” director Dallas Jenkins told Hope 103.2.

“They tend to go from Bible verse to Bible verse, miracle to miracle but we’re focusing on the backstories. We’re focusing on the relationships and the humanity of Jesus.

“Even though he does miracles – even though he’s clearly the Son of God and claims to be the Son of God – we are showing the human relationships and the authenticity.

“I think that allows [The Chosen] to feel different than what’s come before.”

The Chosen catch up news

In what’s the highest-scale scene of The Chosen so far, the third season will feature the “feeding of the 5000” – a shoot involving 12,000 extras and fans who had been invited from over 36 different countries to recreate Jesus’ famous miracle.

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During a visit to the Texas-based set, The Chosen costume department told Hope 103.2, “extras had to dress themselves” and did “a great job” emulating a first-century aesthetic.

This season fans will also notice issues of mental illness, marital strain and disability are explored, as greater breadth is given to the reality of the ancient characters’ lives.

“Season 3 is about the cost of following Jesus,” – Dallas Jenkins, The Chosen director

“Season 3 is about the cost of following Jesus,” Dallas told Hope 103.2.

“The disciples are expecting certain things: they’re followers of Jesus now, he’s the Messiah, when is he going to overthrow the Romans? When is he going to make their lives better?

“In some ways their lives are even harder than before they met Jesus [and] we explore that. We explore why Jesus heals some people and not others.

“A lot of difficult questions are raised in this season.

“We wanted to make sure that we portrayed the fact that when you’ve been chosen by Jesus that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve been chosen to have an easy life.”

Episode’s 1 and 2 of Season 3 will be debuting in select cinemas November 18, followed by the full season on The Chosen and Angel Studios apps.