Since being made available for free during the COVID-19 Pandemic, The Chosen gained notoriety for its novel storytelling and engaging production, quickly becoming one of the highest crowd-funded media projects of all time.
Four seasons later, The Chosen has garnered two hundred million viewers from 175 countries with 770 million episode views and 12 million social media followers, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
But is the global phenomenon stalling, or is it still drawing the same interest from fans who first watched it during the COVID-19 lockdowns?
Sydney Catholic Anusha Jebanasam has been a passionate superfan since its first season appeared on Angel Studios.
Her enthusiasm has taken her all the way to Texas, where she was an extra in the highly anticipated scene of Christ feeding the 5000 at the conclusion of season three.
As moderator of the Jonathan Roumie Fan Page on Facebook and Instagram, with a community of almost 200,000 followers, Anusha has a unique perspective.
“The Chosen phenomena is alive and well and continues to gain momentum with every season,” Anusha said.
“It continues to explore universal themes of faith and life and death, and what it means to give one’s life truly to God.
“Every day there are new people watching the show and being transformed in ways that are unseen and The Chosen continues to heal broken family relationships, and provides comfort and assurance of being loved, especially in a world which is so full of hate and suffering.
“The audience continues to grow and is reflected in the daily increase in followers for Jonathan Roumie, The Chosen and the Jonathan Roumie fan page.”
Posing this question to the social media page’s fan base, Anusha has found that the studio’s honest and earnest engagement with its fans has played a large part in the growing interest in the series.
“I can’t think of another TV show that tries to be as transparent as possible with their fan base as I’ve witnessed with The Chosen,” said Jennifer, a member of the Jonathon Roumie fan page community.
“Even during hiatuses they will find ways to remain engaged with the fans by releasing short behind the scenes footage or sneak-peeks into future seasons.
“As I first discovered The Chosen in May 2020 it is truly amazing how the number of fans has rapidly increased over the last four years.
“One of the advantages of social media is how quickly people can share quotes or reels from The Chosen.”
Fellow page members Belinda and Tammy also attribute this growth in some part to the series’ success in engaging and informing its fans during the quieter periods.
Belinda added that, “If each of us who is touched by the show, shares it with few people, who then each go and tell a few people it will continue to grow.”
Reflecting on the last few years of engagement, Anusha said that the show has plateaued on occasion with some storylines, “however the director has used these occasionally banal storylines to set up a bigger pay off for the audience.”
“Using Eden’s miscarriage as a potential backstory to why Simon has a crisis of faith and exploring themes of dying and grief in Thomas and Raima’s storyline ponders the question of life after death in a profound and deeply moving way,” she said.
“The disciples are portrayed as having real everyday struggles like the rest of us, making the bible come alive in full living colour and relevant in a remarkable and new way.”
The Catholic Weekly has also seen a consistent interest in The Chosen, with interviews of actors Jonathon Roumie and Elizabeth Tabish and past season reviews continuing to draw new readers, and new viewers for the Sydney Archdiocesan YouTube channel.
With the wave of support building towards the coming sixth season and the Lord’s Passion, Anusha feels privileged to be a part of the Chosen movement and says the best of The Chosen is yet to come.
“The show will remain a success as it delivers some of the best storytelling on screen in our modern times,” Anusha said.
“This body of work, especially after it is all completed, will have a lasting legacy as it is grounded in faith and in bringing people to God.
“The quality of the film making and the calibre of acting—sometimes just from a shared and knowing look between the disciples and Jesus—has attracted the attention of mainstream media because simply put, it is excellent filmmaking.
“At a time where the world has shut out God, The Chosen has brought faith back into the mainstream with a message of hope for everyone.”