Prime Video announced Friday that season five of the global hit series “The Chosen” will premiere in June in the United States, while season six is currently in production.
Titled “The Chosen: Last Supper,” the eight-episode season will debut in three parts over three weeks. The first two episodes will drop on June 15, followed by three more on June 22, and the final three on June 29.
International audiences in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sub-Saharan Africa, the United Kingdom and Latin America will be able to stream the new season in July. Seasons one through four are currently available on Prime Video.
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The series, which dramatizes the life of Jesus through the eyes of those who knew Him, has become one of the most-watched faith-based shows in the world, with more than 250 million viewers. “The Chosen” is produced by 5&2 Studios and created, written and directed by Dallas Jenkins.
“I’m probably more excited to bring this season to the world than any season we’ve ever done,” the 49-year-old director told The Christian Post ahead of season five. “It’s our biggest season yet. It’s on the biggest stage. This demands to be seen on the big screen more than in any season we’ve ever done, even the cameras we use, the lenses we used.
“This was meant to be big, and yet, my favorite stuff about this season are the small moments, the intimate moments, the time we spend with Jesus and His followers at the Last Supper. […] He spends some time with the women followers and his mother before he does with the men. And there’s so much beauty and intimacy mixed with the pain of what’s to come that that is just imbued throughout this season and the performances from our cast.”
Season five opened in theaters on March 28 in the U.S. and April 11 in international markets, grossing nearly $60 million worldwide. Over the past three years, the series has earned nearly $140 million globally across 55 countries.
The new season follows Jesus’ final days, leading to his betrayal and crucifixion. Jonathan Roumie returns as Jesus, with Shahar Isaac as Peter, Paras Patel as Matthew, Elizabeth Tabish as Mary Magdalene, Noah James as Andrew and George H. Xanthis as John. Other returning cast members include Abe Bueno-Jallad as Big James, Vanessa Benavente as Mother Mary, Luke Dimyan as Judas, Richard Fancy as Caiaphas, Paul Ben-Victor as King Herod and Andrew James Allen as Pontius Pilate.
The story picks up with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where He confronts corruption in the temple and shares one final meal with His disciples. As tension escalates, Judas plots a betrayal that leads to Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion.
As Judas prepares for the ultimate act of betrayal, “his perspectives and the things that he thought would be absolute truths are starting to shift and become unbalanced,” Dimyan, who plays Judas, told CP.
“He’s starting to question what their ultimate goal is. Since the disciples — and he — don’t have the hindsight that everyone who’s read the Bible has, they don’t really see what’s coming. Not just the crucifixion but Jesus’ entire plan. Jesus is causing so much division, challenging the Pharisees and the temple authorities, instead of unifying our people. I think that leaves Judas [and the other disciples] a bit lost, frustrated and confused about their purpose.”
Dimyan, a Coptic Egyptian, said he wants viewers to see Judas as a human individual: struggling, questioning and searching for meaning in the shadow of history’s most pivotal moment. He said that throughout the series, he’s sought to portray the disciple who betrays Jesus as complex, torn between his love for the Son of God and the choices that lead him down a tragic path.
“I was coming at him purely from a personal and emotional perspective,” he shared. “I had no recollection or understanding of Jewish culture beforehand. But learning the traditions, the mindsets, especially what it meant to be Jewish in the first century under Roman occupation, it gave me a whole new understanding of how someone like Judas might have thought.”
In January, Amazon MGM Studios signed a multi-faceted, first-look deal with 5&2 Studios. The agreement includes streaming rights to the first five seasons of The Chosen, as well as the upcoming unscripted series “The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls.”
Season six of “The Chosen” is currently in production and will depict the crucifixion, and season seven, the final season in the show, will focus on the Resurrection.
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
