Dallas Jenkins Reveals What To Expect From The Chosen Season 6

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Today we speak to Jenkins of pioneer and independent Christian media about the rise of the show, why he almost gave up on producing all together and what comes next for the popular series. I'm Georgia Howe with daily wire executive editor John Bickley and this is a weekend episode of Morning Wire. Every year around the holidays, we spend so much time trying to figure out the perfect gifts for the people that we love and that's a wonderful thing, but it also got me thinking about the things that we do for our families that don't come wrapped under the tree, making sure that they're taking care of, planning for their future, giving them a little more piece of mind. That's what life insurance is about. It's not the most exciting thing to think about during the holidays, but it's a meaningful way to help provide financial security for the people who depend on you. And ethos makes getting life insurance surprisingly simple. You can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and potentially get same day coverage all online. There's no medical exam. You just answer a few simple health questions online. You can get up to $3 million in coverage with some policies starting as low as $30 a month. So while you're thinking about getting everything that you want for your loved ones this year, consider taking a few minutes to plan for their future too. Take 10 minutes to get covered today with life insurance through ethos. Get your free quote at ethos.com/wire. That's E-T-H-O-S.com/wire. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Joining us now in studio is Dallas Jenkins, creator and director of the hit TV series The Chosen Dallas. Thank you so much for coming on. Oh, thanks so much for having me. I love it. I'm so excited to talk to you about this whole project. I think it's amazing. I think it actually is historic. We say this too often, but it is a historic series on so many levels. First ever gospel-focused retelling of Christ's story in TV series form, I believe, is it correct? Most translated series ever. Yeah. 120 something languages. Yeah. It's growing. So I think we're over 130 languages right now. It's a literal Guinness Book of World Records plaque that we have for the most translated show in history. Incredible. I watched you actually talking about some of your favorite episodes, and you mentioned the wonder where you had a one shot, 14 minutes or something shot, and that was a record setting for a while. At the time. Yeah. It's a sense of some people have gotten cooler than we were, but yeah, we like to set precedents if we can. So, you know, this series, I think it's been amazing, you know, all of us have watched it from the beginning. It's kind of this, it's almost an experiment, proud, sourced, initially, you know, can this kind of series succeed, can it succeed on somewhere like prime, et cetera? And it is, it is, I think, changed the way a lot of people look at what is possible actually in TV series now. From your perspective, now, we're about to launch season six of the chosen in November or are you amazed by this or are you so used to it that this is like, ah, you know, it's hard to get yourself out of the mentality of the day to day, can you appreciate what you've created? Well, here's the thing, and I promise you, this is not just a platitude before I started making the shows, and I was in a serious career failure, I mean, I just had a big movie come out and it completely bombed, and I genuinely didn't know if I would ever make another movie again or TV show. And in that moment, God really spoke to me and through my wife and through others, and I got on this perspective that we call the five and two plan. So that's actually the name of my company is five and two studios because of this, which is my job is not to feed the five thousand, it's only to provide the loaves and fish. And so as someone who previously cared so much about results and striving and achieving the numbers and trying to make good decisions that will result in bigger increase and result in a bigger reward, I got rid of all of that. And my job is to provide five loaves and two fish when Jesus asked for them. And then at that point, the transaction is over. And if he chooses to feed five thousand, that's up to him. So I'm not surprised by what's happened, but I also wouldn't have been surprised if it didn't happen, I genuinely went into this open-handed going. I'm just going to try to make the best show that I can that honors God and it's faithful to the scriptures while we're also including creative imagination. I never want to step outside the boundaries of Jesus's character or the intention of the gospels. I want to make sure that my integrity stays intact and my family stays strong and that I'm bringing people to an authentic portrayal of Jesus. And after that, I genuinely don't care or make any decisions based on the size of the audience or what's been happening to it. So it's extraordinary. It's beyond anything I could have ever imagined or hoped for. But I genuinely don't imagine much or hope for much in the future, whatever it's this project or any project. I just really try to focus on, how do I make this as good as it can be? And then we'll just enjoy the results, good or bad, it's not up to me anymore. For this interview, I'm going to go work on actually having this mentality, this is an amazing mentality. So you mentioned something there that there's so much I want to ask you about, but you mentioned something there that is crucial and from the beginning was, from an evangelical Christian myself, a concern of every Christian going in is the creative license taken in this series. And I know this has been asked of you of every interviewer. In the early stages, were you afraid of that, did you feel like we're taking a major risk just by engaging this and doing this in a way that is so sort of granular and very human with all the flaws and with flawed actors and flawed, you know, I mean, the whole process of anything we ever create as creators, it's imperfect. Recognizing when you're doing something that's not inspired scripture, but it's still about Jesus and the followers and all that, it's scary territory for sure. But I wasn't scared because I really did, again, the five and two principles, part of it. I mean, like the outcome and how people think of this, how they respond is really not up to me. But I really did believe and still do that, even if I don't bat a thousand, I'm not claiming this is the inherent word of God. It's an artistic rendering and artistic portrayal. Someone once called it fan fiction. And I think there's some truth to that because it's based on truth, of course. And I'm hoping for sure to always capture capital T truth, even when I'm not necessarily portraying facts. Yeah. A lot of the things that are in the show, I don't know if they're factual or not. We always make sure that they are plausible. They could have happened. We don't believe that we are going outside of the character and intentions of Jesus and the Gospels. And as long as we're doing that, I believe that we're in safe territory and I believe that we know the difference between the show and the Bible. And I think the audience does too. So we've taken steps such as I have a Biblical Council of Bible experts who read the scripts and if they raise a red flag about something contractually, I'm obligated to adjust it. That's only happened two or three times. But I've put some accountability in place just to make sure that my own humanity, ego, artistic pride doesn't ever get in the way of the authentic telling of this story, recognizing that part of the story will include cultural context, historical context, and yes, some artistic imagination, but never going outside of the character and intentions of Jesus and the Gospels. I think a lot of people outside of the industry probably don't realize what it takes to be a show creator to run a whole show, how complex this is. What steps do you take? So you have your counsel. What steps do you take to make sure the team, this massive team is sort of on the same page, working within the same sort of boundaries, you know? Well, when it comes to the actors, the crew, all of that, none of that is their responsibility. My responsibility is the text, is the words that they're being said. All of that and the audience needs to have one person that they can keep accountable and or blame if something goes wrong. But I've said from the beginning, there's no more outside influence coming into this show other than my own inner circle. This is something that I take very seriously, but I don't demand that the cast and crew sign on to my own mission or my own calling. Right. Yeah, I'm thinking of what it is that is inzup on the screen, what they put into what's actually on the set, what actually takes place. So onset is where they, by coming on set, they have signed on to the telling of this story and, and they're employed by us to help tell this story. And when you talk about the same page, what's funny is, and I think this is actually kind of how God works, is we have the widest array of people with different faith backgrounds or no faith at all, people from all walks of life. And they've all come together and, and, and not all of them believe in this, that this story is true, but all of them believe in the project. And they have, it's one of the things I'm still grateful for is that even when they don't necessarily sign on to the theology or to the mission of the project, they are committed to doing great work. And I've surrounded myself with people who are better than I am at their jobs. How do I get them all on the same page? Well, part of that is, every day on set, I show up thinking, my job is to not only try to make a great show, but to love on these people and to lead them well and to give them a chance to do great work and to empower them to do great work. And, um, I think, I think if you did a poll of the cast and crew, they would tell you that even when they don't agree with me politically, spiritually, whatever, that they do, love following me in this project and, and are very proud of the work that we're doing. And, uh, the vast majority of them will stuck around all seven seasons. You know those pieces in your closet that you find yourself reaching for over and over again, the sweater that works with everything, the jeans that you know will always fit, and the bag that you carry everywhere. These are the pieces that earn a permanent place in your wardrobe. That's exactly what Quince does so well. Quince makes elevated everyday essentials using premium materials like Mongolian cashmere, organic cotton, and premium stretch denim. The designs are timeless, thoughtfully crafted, and made to be worn again and again. This week, as it was getting colder, I found myself reaching for the organic cotton sweater jacket in navy every day. It was like I was Goldilocks. This sweater was too thick. This was too thin, but my quince sweater was just right. I think it quince is priced 50 to 80 percent less than similar brands. They worked directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen, so you're paying for quality, not brand markup. Find the fall pieces you'll reach for most of Quince. Download the Quince app for app exclusive offers or go to quince.com. Get free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK too. And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was morning wire. It's the best way to support the show. So you just wrapped season seven, season six is coming out in November. Is it hard in a TV series that is, you know, obviously huge success has engendered more and more seasons? Is it hard to keep the same sense of urgency and purpose about it or are you more inspired than ever each season that comes? So that's a great question. So in season one, when we didn't know if anyone was going to be watching, we had no idea how this was going to turn out. It was a group of artists all together just trying to do great work. I'm trying to honor God and the text and I'm trying to do it with integrity and everyone's trying to do great work. And we're not thinking about the audience because at the time there was no audience. I think one of the things I'm most proud of when it comes to the seven seasons of filming the show is that when we were doing season seven and the resources we had to do it were almost 10 times what they were originally. The number of people who are watching is in the hundreds of millions as opposed to nobody or season one, you know, when we first were filming, then I got to a million and then I got to a little bit more. I really believe we've maintained that spirit of while we're here on this set, we're treating this sacred. This is our safe space for artistic expression and we're not going to worry about how the audience is going to respond. We're still going to be a group of artists who are just trying to do great work. And so when we start thinking about, I mean, making a television show is hard enough. And if you add to it, the weight and the pressure of trying to please, you know, 100 million people or whatever it is. So we really have maintained this, this sense of excellence, just trying to strive for excellence over trying to strive for pleasing people. Now the thing is the temptation would be now that we did the crucifixion season and then the resurrection season to want to spoil it for you, but Jesus does resurrect. It would be to think, well, now it's really important. Now what we're doing is really important, this is the most important part of the story. And some people have asked me that and I've got every word Jesus said was important. Every part of his story was important. We were just as committed in the first season to making sure we got this right as we are in season six and seven, making sure we get the crucifixion and resurrection right. So sometimes there's increased weight, but otherwise it's, you know, we really are trying to treat all of this as though it's the most sacred and important thing we'll do. So you had sort of a crisis before this with the failure of the first film. And do you feel that this really has helped ground you over the years spiritually working on this project? Yeah. I mean, I would say that even my failure, you know, I did a movie that came out in 2017 and it completely bombed at the box office and I was left home alone with my wife crying and confused and praying and thinking, so I guess I must have missed God's calling because I thought he called me into this, but it's clearly not working at movie bombed. I guess I was wrong. And part of the story of the feeding of the 5,000 includes the fact that Jesus not only knew they were hungry when he needed to do a miracle to feed them, it was actually his fault. He's the one who'd been talking for three days. He brought them to a place of hunger so that the only solution to their, to their desperation was a miracle. And so because of that approach, I really do believe that over these eight seasons, the increased success of the show has only reminded me and solidified for me what I'm responsible for. I'm not good enough to build a show that's been this successful. That's in every country in the world that's been translated into so many languages that has had the kind of box office success that the show has had. I genuinely know I'm not good enough to accomplish that. And so I've just learned more and more about the intimacy of Christ and the intimacy of God who literally, when he's communing with you, it knows exactly what's in your heart because he created you. And so that's what I'm focused on and that's what has become solidified for me over and over. He's such an intimate God. And on the last day of filming, the very last day when I realized I don't have another day of filming ahead of me. This is literally it. I just walked around my front yard in the grass and I just kept saying, look at what you've done, look at what you've done talking to God, not myself, but saying, what a thing you've done. Like I've just got, I'm so grateful that I've had a front row seat to what he's, what he's been doing. And so some people who've said, hey, don't let success get to your head, you know, don't start feeling responsible for this. I'm like, are you crazy? What the chances of me thinking that I'm capable of pulling this off are zero. So that's, I think my reliance on and appreciation for the Lord has only increased while doing the show. You mentioned the box office. I want to talk to you about this as well. I'm super fascinated by your unorthodox wrong word to use, maybe unorthodox approach to promoting this series, the way the series, it's taken different forms. It is, it's been in the theaters. There's been episodes in the theaters. There's going to be another one soon, right before Easter. How, I really, you guys are trendsetters with this and we at Daily Wire are looking at this as well, of course, and we have had some theater releases that we want more. How has that experience gone, the theater experience in particular gone for you, how has it worked for the show? Yeah. One of my favorite popular culture tweets that I, or X or whatever you call it, about the show that I loved was from a box office analyst who was looking at the results of our, the first time we released an episode into theaters of a TV show. And he said, "Hey, look, a popular TV show has gathered a bunch of people together in theaters to enjoy it as a collective experience, your move Mandalorian, and I love the notion that we did something first." Yeah. Like, it's just fun to know that sometimes a project about Jesus can actually set a trend. And then it started to happen. More TV shows started having premieres, like, like, the theatrical releases over a weekend. So what's been really cool about that is to see, again, people gathering together to watch, and they, they build these friendships that they wouldn't have otherwise had because they're there together to experience this. Lives have been impacted. It's sometimes it's easier to get someone to join you to come with you to the theater than it is to get you to take them, and get them to go with you to church. And so that's been a cool opportunity for people to say, "Hey, I've got this really great show that I love, and watch it come with me to the theater and to see it." The public relations that comes from the headlines about it being in a theater, sometimes can help the show overall. So that's been a really cool thing is just the experimenting of it. We really love. And then the success that it's had has been just a nice proof text for us, the crucifixion when we get to the finale of season six. We didn't just do it like, "We're going to take two episodes of the show, put them together and put them in theaters." Yeah. We filmed it with the global theatrical release in mind. We filmed it as a feature film of sorts, it's not just a traditional season finale, it's actually a theatrical film that will be translated in over 25 languages all over the world. And I think the beauty of having a cultural moment that can oftentimes only happen in theaters is a really cool thing. Yeah, for sure. I have found myself personally as a theater enthusiast. enthusiast the last few years going more and more and just really appreciating after COVID you know the power of the theater yeah and especially for something like this that is very emotional, spiritual being together with other people experiencing that is it transforms the experience obviously for sure the so season six is going to launch here very soon November 15th is correct first three episodes launch on November 13th 15th on prime video okay so first three and then it's what week one per week yeah what just big picture what is what is the focus of that season so season six is our crucifixion season and it takes place over the course of 24 hours so the whole season covers 24 hours of the end of Jesus's first life on this earth we know that I don't want to spoil it again what I like of it as I said he comes back but this ends with his death and I think one of the key themes of this season that has emerged as we were writing it and then certainly emerged when people started watching they we've shown some some sneak previews of the first episode end of the crucifixion finale and the responses have been I don't think I really understood fully how much of a participant Jesus was in what happened I think sometimes people forget that Jesus wasn't just getting dragged around and tortured and crucified and he was just suffering through it which of course was taking place but this was a path he chose in the Garden of Gethsemane when he said not my will but yours and he walked out of that garden and never looked back and even said to his apostles at one point you know at any moment I can call on my father to send a legion of angels to rescue me from this and we lean into that in this season we lean into the fact that he could have stopped it if he wanted to he had the power to do that and willingly chose and so to go forward with it and so that phrase followed the path he chose has become kind of the key phrase of this season how do you so obviously this is leading up to the biggest tragedy in history and the most triumphant moment in history yeah how do you balance emotionally in entire season with that is that obviously it's a very grim right something very grim hanging over it how do you add it make it a dynamic season yeah that's a really good question because the temptation would be to just eight episodes of just misery because all of them are scared and and devastated by what Jesus is doing but I don't I don't want to watch eight episodes of misery much less direct eight episodes of misery we do still include joy and beauty and even humor at times to illustrate the fact that while Jesus was doing this it was for the greater good and the disciples might not have seen it they weren't necessarily walking around telling jokes and having fun and thinking joyous thoughts but but we're able to portray the story in a way that reminds you that the crucifixion is the greatest act of love that's this shows this shows God's love for us the resurrection is God's power right now we want we don't want to lose sight of that we don't want to lose sight of the fact that this was an act of love and an act of service and there's something very beautiful about that and so finding the beauty in the midst of this was a challenge but I believe we did it and and and I believe that viewers are seeing that already well very excited about that new season coming out and this theatrical release of the finale which will be I'm definitely going to show up for it Dallas thank you so much for joining us yeah I appreciate you having here this holiday all plans even unlimited are just $15 a month a holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song like all I want right okay we can't afford that you don't forget the music budget we're going to stick with whenever's in the public domain give it a try at minmoble.com/switch up front payment of $45 for three months $90 for six months or $180 for 12 month plan required $15 per month equivalent to taxes and fees extra new customer offer for initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy see terms