Season 5 of 'The Chosen' Takes Viewers on a 'Deeply Emotional Journey'

DALLAS – With the premiere of The Chosen’s Season 5 upon us, fans anticipating more of the same may be surprised by what they encounter from the eight new episodes coming over the next few months. Seen as the beginning of the end in the highly-sought after program’s seven season arc, viewers will be challenged with the most intense, mature, and challenging themes yet.

In a phased release, Season 5 will be available in theaters in the United States and Canada in three parts beginning March 28th. The season will then be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video starting in June.

When asked recently what viewers can expect from the upcoming Season 5 of ‘The Chosen’, show creator and director Dallas Jenkins didn’t mince words.

“We see more of who Jesus is than we ever have. We see him cry. We see him turn over tables because he's so angry. We see him show tenderness and love. We see him rebuke. All of these things are true in a single season.” 

Promising a series of episodes where viewers will witness both “chaos and quiet”, Jenkins believes that this gritty yet realistic approach to the final week leading up to Christ’s crucifixion needs to be honest and forthright as prescribed by the New Testament.

“These are iconic, epic moments and stories from the Gospels with a big palette, a big backdrop, and big cameras,” shares Jenkins, who has directed 10 other feature films in addition to The Chosen. “This demands to be seen on the big screen, and yet what The Chosen's does and what we are always looking for is intimacy and relationships.”

A few of those epic yet poignant moments include the Last Supper, turning over tables in the temple, and Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, also known as Palm Sunday. It was this scene, one that included more than 600 extras, that caught several of the cast members off guard.

“I feel like when we were all coming into the city for the triumphal entry, the feelings we were all experiencing were surprising to a lot of us,” shares Elizabeth Tabish, who portrays Mary Magdalene in the series. “It was very triumphant. It was very joyous. But there was also this sense that things are going to change rapidly. There's like this bittersweetness to that moment that I was not expecting to feel as we were doing that.”

Adds Paras Patel, who plays fan-favorite Matthew, “I remember that moment because all of us were having different reactions. I was just checking everyone around me as we were doing the triumphal entry. Different things were coming up for all of us at the moment. This goes to show that the environment is so important just because it brings you into that moment in history.” 

Even though this event is displayed primarily in the Gospel of John, many fans of the show may be caught off guard by the visually intense demonstration in Season 5 of Jesus (Jonathan Roumie) brandishing a whip to drive out the animals and money changers from the temple.

“Trying to express Jesus's righteous anger at these Pharisees that have been, extorting taxes and money, with the poorest of the community and how wrong that was, how sacrilegious, and how much of an affront to God the Father that was in Jesus' eyes. That’s why he needed to make the statement,” shares Roumie, who worked with the same trainer who showed Harrison Ford “the ropes” in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’. 

For many of the actors who have been with The Chosen since the show’s inception, the realization that the events of Season 5 will eventually usher in the crucifixion of Christ is a notion that makes them take pause. They realize that preparing oneself emotionally and spiritually for these supercharged moments of grief and ultimate glory as a believer is something not to take lightly.

“I feel like you can't really be prepared,” Patel explains. “We know what's happening. We know what's to come, but our characters don't. And so, it's just better to kind of lean into the unknown. It's just been interesting because even if you are prepared for it, just prepare to not be prepared.”

“The clarity of the sorrow is scary,” says Noah James, who portrays Andrew in The Chosen. “And I think what He is saying is really frightening, disheartening, and almost impossible to take at face value. And I find that to be very challenging.”

“I think trying to play it moment by moment and coming ready, locked and loaded for the beginning, and trusting that the story will carry you through to the end is the best approach,” notes Shahar Isaac, who plays Simon Peter.

Ultimately, Season 5 will take viewers on a deeply emotional journey extending to a full gamut of emotions including joy, sadness, anger, and impending grief. Yet, one can’t help but be encouraged by the events of the most pivotal week in history.

Says Tabish, “We’ve been witnessing Him do so many healings and miracles for the last four seasons, and everyone's having these expectations of who He's supposed to be. And then, suddenly His behavior is really erratic, surprising, and quite shocking. He's creating scenes in the marketplace. He's creating scenes at the temple. The Pharisees are freaking out. The Romans are getting a little concerned and a lot of spying is going on. He's become this person of interest that I don't think any of His followers were expecting to look like this. That's an interesting place to be.”

To date, more than 200 million viewers have watched at least one episode of The Chosen with video views recently surpassing the 900 million mark worldwide.

Episodes 1 and 2 of The Chosen opens in theaters nationwide this Friday.

WATCH A TRAILER FOR SEASON 5 OF ‘THE CHOSEN’: