The life and times of Jesus Christ are set to continue in more small-screen adventures, as Dallas Jenkins and 5&2 Studios develop a new slate of upcoming The Chosen spinoffs.
The Chosen started life as a crowdfunded independent drama in 2017. Since then, it’s become a smash hit, with Season 4 even premiering in theaters and bringing in $59 million worldwide at the box office.
Although the original series is set to end with Season 7 (wherein the show will cover Jesus’ resurrection), the tales won’t stop there. There’s a whole slate of new TV shows from The Chosen universe to come, with creator Dallas Jenkins even launching a new studio – 5&2 Studios – to carry out his new plan.
The “Biblical Universe“, as it’s called, will continue adapting Bible-inspired stories following Jesus and other figures. From animated kids’ shows to a reality adventure series, here’s every upcoming The Chosen spinoff explained.
The Chosen Adventures
The first entry in the Biblical Universe after The Chosen will be an animated series for children, titled The Chosen Adventures, spanning 14 episodes.
The show will be a youthful spin on the story of Jesus, and the cast so far includes Paul Walter Hauser, Jordin Sparks, and Yvonne Orji. (In an X post on September 21, Hauser confirmed that he wouldn’t be voicing Jesus in the new show.)
Cast members from The Chosen are said to include Jonathan Roumie, Paras Patel, Elizabeth Tabish, Noah James, Joey Vahedi, Yasmine Al-Bustami, Brandon Potter, and George H. Xanthis.
According to Jenkins, the show will take place at the same time and in the same landscape as The Chosen, but will focus on an interaction between Jesus and a group of children (led by nine-year-old Abby) he meets in the wild.
Jenkins said of the series (via Variety): “There’s room here to tell the story of Jesus through the eyes of children in the whimsical format of animation. We thought there’s something there, seeing Jesus through the eyes of kids.”
“We’re not going to expand on that in the mothership show,” he continued. “But what if we took time with that, in an animated show that was witty and fun and that adults could appreciate. We really wanted to get this right.”
“We can’t afford for our second project to come out of the gate and people to go, ‘you know, it’s fine.’ But we really want to make sure that the audience really loves it.”
The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls
The Chosen universe takes a reality-based turn with The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls, which will be a six-episode series.
In it, Jenkins will accompany Bear Grylls (of Man vs. Wild) through physical endurance challenges. Throughout the series, other The Chosen cast members will join Grylls, where he explores their personal stories and perspectives into their characters on the show.
“This is the first of multiple partnerships in the unscripted space,” Jenkins said. “For me as a rugged indoorsman, I’m very scared about what I’m going to be subjected to. But I’m willing to take one for the team. It’s the idea of partnering with other people who have their own audiences, and for us to bring our thing into their world.”
Untitled Moses series
The next big live-action drama for Jenkins and The Chosen will be a three-season series about Moses. Jenkins will write, direct, and act as showrunner for the show.
The three seasons will be divided into “the three eras of the Moses story.” According to Jenkins, Season 1 will cover the rescue from Egypt, while Season 2 will include the parting of the Red Sea, the escape, the Exodus, and the progression towards the promised land.
Finally, the third season would take place after 40 years of wandering the desert and finding the promised land.
The three-season arc comes from Jenkins’ desire to develop a shorter show, saying how “the mothership show has made me realize I never want to do seven seasons of anything again as long as I live.”
As for the story itself, Jenkins has some unexpected comparisons between Moses and a major TV icon, Tony Soprano.
“There actually isn’t a story in the Bible, possibly even including Jesus, that has more pop culture, historical moments, phrases, and imagery than the story of Moses,” Jenkins said.
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“There’s an epic story that can be told. In the midst of it was a reluctant Tony Soprano, basically the guy who was being tasked with leading the largest family in the world — and didn’t want it. Tony Soprano was always fighting for power, and Moses was actually always trying to give it up.
And yet, he’s the one that God chose to lead the biggest religious movement and cultural movement in the history of the world. And he wasn’t qualified. He’s being tasked with verbally confronting the oppressors and slave owners and convincing them to let the Jewish people go. And he has a speech impediment.
Just like how The Chosen asked the question, what would it have been like to meet Jesus and to follow Him or to oppose him, I think the Moses story asks the very same question.”
Untitled Acts of the Apostles series
There are two other shows in development for the Biblical Universe: a show about the Acts of the Apostles series and a limited series about Joseph.
The Acts of the Apostles series has been kept under wraps, with little to no details surrounding what it will be about or how long it might run for.
However, the name itself does provide a clue. The Acts of the Apostles is the fifth book of the New Testament, which tells the founding of the Christian Church and how its message spread across the Roman Empire.
The work is made up of the Acts and the Gospel of Luke, which covers the resurrection of Jesus, the Day of Pentecost, and the expulsion of Christians from Jerusalem. The later parts also narrate the imprisonment of Paul the Apostle.
That’s a lot of ground to cover and could suggest that we’re looking at another multi-season show.
Untitled Joseph series
Finally, there’s also a limited Joseph series in development. There’s no information about when this would be set, but Jenkins has revealed that this story “can be told in eight episodes.”
He added: “We have writers that love The Chosen and want to have their own stamp on it, but also defer to the larger Chosen story that we’re telling.
“All filmmakers and storytellers that we bring into our fold are going to be people who love the mothership show and have no interest in rewriting the way that we do things.”
Where will The Chosen spinoffs stream?
Right now, it’s unconfirmed what streaming platforms future The Chosen spinoffs and Dallas Jenkins shows will land.
This is because 5&2 Studios is a new studio, and hasn’t developed any exclusive rights to a particular streaming service just yet.
The Chosen’s distribution history is unusual, streaming on its own app with a pay-it-forward model. As above, the show has also included theatrical releases. However, no matter what happens, The Chosen will always be available to watch for free.
As for the other shows, Jenkins said: “If there’s a streamer that is willing to pay enough to sustain us and make sure that we don’t have to ask people for money, then that’s great.
“We’re going to talk about exclusive windows and all of that. But we always are going to have a heart to make sure that people who can’t afford to pay for it, particularly in third world countries, that they have access to it.
“One of the things that’s going to decide who we work with is who’s willing to ensure that we can be sustainable for the next ten-plus years of making these projects and not have to what I always call ‘dance for nickels‘ on live streams, while at the same time recognizing that there is a large chunk of the world who does need to see this for free.”
For more, check out everything we know about The Chosen Season 5. For other big TV franchises, you can also take a look at all the Yellowstone spinoffs, and check out all the best superhero TV shows to watch right now.