'The Chosen' Smashes Expectations in Debut, Highlights Trend on TV Conservatives Should Celebrate
Over half a million viewers watched the first episode of “The Chosen” on CW last week, but this successful broadcast debut is only the latest example of a Christian production hitting it out of the park.
On July 16, “The Chosen” debuted on the network, drawing 520,000 viewers, according to the television news site TV Line.
This show, which portrays the miracles and teachings of Jesus, while creating depictions of the apostles, achieved this feat despite the fact that it has already been available for three seasons on other platforms, such as Netflix. According to Variety, the show’s first three seasons will air weekly on CW in the 8 p.m. Sunday time slot through Christmas Eve.
The television debut of “The Chosen,” which is produced in Utah, drew a far larger audience than other CW offerings, such as “Riverdale” and “Nancy Drew.”
“By comparison, ‘Nancy Drew’ has consistently brought in around 400,000 viewers for each episode this summer, per TV Series Finale,” according to the Salt Lake City, Utah-based Deseret News. “And ‘Riverdale’ has hovered around 200,000 viewers per episode this spring and summer.”
“This show has already connected deeply with viewers around the world, and The CW will expand its audience even further,” CW President Brad Schwarz said in a June 9 statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
At the same time, other Christian productions, such as Angel Studios’ “Sound of Freedom” starring Jim Caviezel, have also recently met with great success.
Made with a budget of only $14.6 million, the anti-human trafficking “Sound of Freedom” had taken in more than $127.5 million by Monday, according to the cinema site Box Office Mojo.
This year has also seen the release of films like the Christian horror movie “Nefarious” from Believe Entertainment and “Jesus Revolution” from Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Co.
Studios have begun to address an unmet demand and met with great success as a result.
In the midst of a strike of actors and writers in Hollywood, “The Chosen” is one of the few shows still filming. It was granted a waiver by the Screen Actors Guild because it is an independent production, not affiliated with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, according to Deadline.
First he was a friend, then became so much more. Tune in to the broadcast series premiere of #CWTheChosen Tonight at 8/7c. Stream next day free on The CW. pic.twitter.com/XZsuXvEu8b
— The CW (@TheCW) July 16, 2023
Studios should take note of these productions’ success and make more of an effort to produce shows and movies that appeal to Christians and their families, instead of woke remakes and leftist cartoons.
In both “The Chosen” and “Sound of Freedom,” Catholic men of courage play the lead roles. Jonathan Roumie plays Jesus in “The Chosen” and Jim Caveziel plays the lead role in “Sound of Freedom.” In January, at the first March for Life since Roe v. Wade finally fell, Roumie boldly addressed the pro-life gathering in Washington and did not hide his faith.
Caveziel, meanwhile, famously played Jesus in Mel Gibson’s 2004 classic “The Passion of the Christ.”
He recently opened up about fighting to keep references to God in the movie “The Count of Monte Cristo,” where Caveziel played the titular character.
Disney executives, he said, wanted “God” out of the picture.
CORRECTION, July 27, 2023: “Jesus Revolution” was co-produced by Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Co. An earlier version of this article listed a different studio.
CORRECTION, July 28, 2023: Angel Studios is a licensee of “The Chosen.” An earlier version of this article misstated the studio’s relationship with the show.
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