Dallas Jenkins is giving churches an unusual heads-up ahead of what could be The Chosen's most intense season yet: get ready, because viewers are going to have questions.
The creator, director and co-writer of the hugely successful Jesus drama has announced that pastors and priests can sign up for an opportunity to screen the first episode of Season 6 early - and the reason goes well beyond generating buzz for the show.
Jenkins believes churches could become one of the most important places for viewers to process what they are about to see.
"People are going to have questions," Jenkins said in an Aug. 17 announcement. He revealed that some people who have already seen material from Season 6, particularly footage connected with the crucifixion, immediately wanted to return to their churches and discuss what they had watched.
That reaction appears to have caught the filmmakers' attention.
Season 6 isn't simply another chapter in the adventures of Jesus and his disciples. The entire season unfolds across a single day: the day of Jesus' crucifixion.
And Jenkins isn't downplaying the intensity.
He said the new episodes venture into "deep, deep issues" that The Chosen has not fully explored before. Early footage has already indicated that the series is prepared to depict the crucifixion with considerably more brutality and emotional weight than viewers may be accustomed to seeing on the show.
Churches Are Getting An Early Look
That is where the surprise comes in.
Rather than allowing the season to exist purely as a streaming event, the team behind The Chosen is deliberately bringing churches into the conversation. Pastors and priests have been offered a limited opportunity to register for early access to Episode 1, potentially allowing congregations to experience the beginning of the crucifixion storyline together.
For Jenkins, the church setting could provide something a streaming platform cannot: somewhere viewers can take their theological questions after the credits roll.
The strategy also reveals the unusual balancing act behind The Chosen. The series now operates simultaneously as a major commercial entertainment property and a ministry project.
In the United States, Prime Video handles the show's initial commercial streaming window. Meanwhile, the nonprofit Come and See Foundation works to ensure that episodes eventually remain freely accessible through The Chosen app around the world and are translated into more than 100 languages.
Jenkins says those two worlds will become especially important with Season 6.
The Crucifixion Is Becoming A Major Event
Episodes 1-6 of Season 6 are scheduled to arrive November 15, but viewers will have to wait considerably longer for the climax.
The season finale is being treated very differently.
Jenkins has described Episode 7 as a "supersized episode," with the crucifixion finale planned for a global theatrical release in spring 2027. In other words, one of the most important moments in the entire series isn't simply being dropped onto a streaming service - it is being positioned as a worldwide cinema event.
That raises the stakes considerably for Jonathan Roumie, who has portrayed Jesus since the series began. After years of building toward Jerusalem, the actor and the production are finally confronting the scene viewers have always known was coming.
And judging from Jenkins' comments, the creators aren't expecting audiences simply to watch it and move on.
Dallas Jenkins Wants People Talking Afterward
Perhaps the most intriguing part of Jenkins' announcement is his admission that early viewers have already been unsettled enough to start asking spiritual questions.
That's precisely what he appears to want.
Instead of presenting The Chosen as the final word on the Gospel story, Jenkins is pointing viewers back toward churches and pastors to wrestle with what the series portrays.
For a television phenomenon that started as a crowdfunded Christian project and grew into an international franchise, that may be the biggest test yet.
Season 6 won't merely ask viewers to watch Jesus die.
Dallas Jenkins is preparing for millions of people to ask what his death actually means - and he wants churches ready when they do.
