The Chosen

The Chosen (deutsch Die Auserwählten) ist eine US-amerikanische Fernsehserie, die auf dem Leben von Jesus von Nazaret basiert. Die Serie zeigt Jesus durch die Augen derer, die ihm begegnet sind. Sie versucht so zu erklären, warum Menschen ihr bisheriges Leben hinter sich ließen, um ihm nachzufolgen. Ebenso wird die Ablehnung Jesu durch die damaligen religiösen Autoritäten gezeigt. Die Serie wird vom US-amerikanischen Filmemacher Dallas Jenkins konzipiert, inszeniert und mitgeschrieben.

Die ersten vier Staffeln der Serie können auf der offiziellen Webseite sowie auf Bibel TV kostenlos gestreamt werden.

Die Deutschlandpremiere erfolgte am 27. August 2021 im Internet. Dort war sie zuerst beim Streamanbieter und Medienunternehmen Angel Studios zu sehen.

Die Staffeln 1 bis 3 wurden von Angel Studios über ihre Crowdfounding-Plattform finanziert und produziert. Seit der 4. Staffel erfolgt die Produktion und Finanzierung durch die speziell für die Serie gegründete spendenfinanzierte Organisation Come and See Foundation.

Die Trennung zwischen Angel Studios und The Chosen LLC erfolgte durch eine gerichtliche Einigung. Seit dem 29. Mai 2024 sind auf Angel Studios keine Folgen mehr zu finden.

The Chosen is an American Christian historical drama television series. Created, directed, and co-written by filmmaker Dallas Jenkins, it is the first multi-season series about the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. Primarily set in Judaea and Galilee in the 1st century, the series depicts Jesus's life through the eyes of the people who interacted with him, including the apostles and disciples of Jesus, Jewish religious leaders, Roman government and military officials, and ordinary people. The series stars Jonathan Roumie as Jesus alongside Shahar Isaac, Elizabeth Tabish, Paras Patel, Noah James, and George H. Xanthis, among a large cast of others. Five seasons have been released, with seven in total planned.

The series is free to watch and has used a variety of different business models and distribution methods. The first season was financed through crowdfunding, becoming the most successful crowdfunded TV series or film project in history. After season 1 was initially released in 2019 on the VidAngel platform with a subscription required, the producers temporarily made season 1 free to watch in response to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic during which millions of people were staying home. Revenue actually went up after it was made available for free. The producers eventually decided to make all seasons free to watch, though there would be exclusivity windows. Seasons 3 and 4 initially premiered in movie theaters before being released to various streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Facebook, YouTube, and others. In 2025, Jenkins announced a deal with Amazon MGM Studios to premiere episodes of Seasons 5, 6, and 7 in theaters, followed by a 90-day exclusivity window on Amazon Prime Video, before being made available for free. As of April 2025, The Chosen grossed over $110 million in its theatrical releases.

The show has been watched by an estimated 280 million people worldwide, a third of whom are not religious. Response to the series among Christians has been generally positive, though there have been various controversies over aspects of the show. It has won two GMA Dove Awards, two K-Love Fan Awards, and one Epiphany Prize from Movieguide.

The series is internationally distributed by Lionsgate and translation into other languages is funded by the non-profit Come and See Foundation. The show has been adapted into a series of novels by Jenkins's father, author Jerry B. Jenkins, a series of graphic novels by Corvus Comics, and companion Bible study materials published by David C. Cook. The success of the series led to the creation of 5&2 Studios, which is developing two spin-off series.