“The Chosen” is the hit series about the life of Jesus that, despite being about a religious subject in an increasingly secular, if not outright hostile to religion, America, took the country by storm and filled up theaters as audiences flocked to see the new film adaptations of the good news. Now it’s coming out with an incredible Christmas special as the Advent season rolls on.
That Christmas special is the third that the series has released. Called “Christmas with The Chosen: Holy Night,” it is now showing in theatres across America and will run through December 17. It features guest performances by Andrea and Matteo Bocelli, Matt Maher, Zach Williams, the Bonner Family, Brandon Lake, One Voice Children’s Choir and Joy to the World.
Posting on Instagram last month, the creator of “The Chosen” series and man who filmed the Christmas Special, Dallas Jenkins, explained the background of the Christmas Special and what sparked it, along with how the idea grew into the massive Christmas event that it is now.
Beginning, he wrote, “Over six years ago I made a little short film on my friend’s farm in Illinois. Entitled The Shepherd, it was about the birth of Christ from the perspective of the shepherds, and it was only intended for my church’s Christmas Eve service. It ultimately ended up launching The Chosen. A few years later, with many more resources, we did The Messengers, a special episode about the birth of Christ from the perspective of Mary and Joseph.”
Continuing, he explained how the idea morphed as it developed, saying, “This year I had an interesting idea…what if we combined the two? I didn’t think it would work great, but it might be an interesting experiment. When Amanda and I saw the first rough cut, we were so moved…it does work, and the nativity story took on even more relevance.”
Concluding, he said, “We decided to take your favorite music performances from the first two specials create an ultimate Christmas special. And guess what? The amazing Andrea Bocelli performed “O Holy Night“ exclusively for the special. I can’t wait for you to see it in theaters and ultimately start a new Christmas tradition.”
The Christmas Special comes just a month and a half before the new season of “The Chosen,” Season 4, which will be released in theaters around America starting on February 1 of 2024. It will also be available on streaming platforms starting then, including the Chosen app, which is free.
The fourth season of “The Chosen” will be released in theaters starting on Feb. 1, 2024, and subsequently released on a variety of streaming platforms, including the free Chosen app. It will follow the lives of Jesus’ disciples, combining both the stories from the biblical text and fictional storylines to keep audiences hooked and more interested in opening up their Bibles to learn more about Jesus and his Good News.
Featured image credit: By The Chosen press photos (press.thechosen.tv) – https://www.press.thechosen.tv/?pgid=judjmpl7-1dfbaacb-b8fe-49f8-a65c-a433cf4028af, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93752473
"*" indicates required fields