The Chosen Season One Review

The Chosen is a series streaming for free about Jesus and His disciples. The series has two seasons with an unofficial release date for the third. It is about the 12 disciples and their journeys in finding Jesus. The series shows the disciples’ faults and brings light to their brokenness while depicting Jesus as kind, loving, and accepting. The Chosen brings the disciples, who lived thousands of years ago, into a perspective that is relatable and charming. You can watch it free now on The Chosen mobile app, Angel Studios website, The Chosen YouTube channel, and season one is free on Peacock and Amazon Prime video.

Dallas Jenkins, the director of the film, used crowdfunding to finance the first season. And according to Desert News, the series has been viewed over 200 million times. The independence and crowdfunding are what got people’s attention towards the show. They have no affiliation with any major Hollywood production studios. Jesus is played by Jonathon Roumie, an actor not known before this series. Alongside Roumie is Elizabeth Tabish who plays Mary Magdalene, Shahar Isaac who plays Simon (Peter), and Paras Patel who plays Matthew, just to name a few. 

If you are hesitant to watch this series, because the Christian genre in films has always been poorly made, like New World Order: The End Has Come (2013), Kirk Camen’s Saving Christmas (2014) or any of the Left Behinds. Most Christian productions seemed cheesy with bad acting and low-quality cuts. But The Chosen has an amazing production value, and the actors are very talented. Anyone would get hooked after the first episode; it had production quality very similar to The Passion of the Christ. If you’re a Christian that loves films but find yourself avoiding films today because of the crude content, this is a wholesome and entertaining series that is highly recommended. 

Season one starts with showing the lives of the disciples and showing Jesus very little in the beginning. Jesus is not shown much in the beginning; he does not seem to be the main character in this series. There is a lot of time spent on Simon, Matthew, Mary Magdalene, and even Nicodemus. Seeing the lives and miracles Jesus performs intertwined with each other is a creative way to use fiction. If you are pretty familiar with the Gospels and Old Testament Scriptures, then watching them come to life in this way will be exciting for you.  

In season one, we are introduced to seven of the disciples, not the full 12. It begins with Jesus starting his ministry, as he collects His chosen. Jesus performs miracles that are taken right out of the Gospels and quotes the Scriptures. Though parts of the film are fictional, we get to see a beautiful depiction of what the miracles and times were like then. Jenkins says The Chosen project will be seven seasons as he still works on crowdfunding. He recently announced full funding for season three has finally happened. If you haven’t yet started The Chosen, it is recommended that you get started. It is binge-worthy.