10 Million in Madagascar Watch 'The Chosen' on TV, 3,000 Orphans Introduced to Jesus
The Chosen, the first-ever multi-season television show about the life of Jesus, is making history again. This time, for being broadcasted to the island of Madagascar's 10 million residents in their native language.
"We've had a special partnership there that enabled us to be the first TV show to ever be translated into Malagasy this summer and we launched on broadcast TV," Kyle Young, vice president of global distribution, told Deseret News. "And the estimates are that over 10 million people in Madagascar watched the series this summer on TV."
The series' global distribution includes a plan to have the show translated into 50 languages this year.
As CBN News reported, creator and director Dallas Jenkins explained the series had partnered with ComeAndSee Foundation, a nonprofit, whose mission is to further the mission of The Chosen, and the gospel, by getting it into every country in the world and translating the series into more than 600 languages.
"We've actually launched in 12 new territories around the world," Young said. "We've launched in places well-known and big TV markets like Spain, France and Poland."
Back in Madagascar, footage released on the series' Instagram page shows 3,000 orphans there being introduced to Jesus. And it is going viral.
"Madagascar has never had an American TV show dubbed in their language. Heck, 75% of the country has no electricity and hasn't even seen a movie or TV show," reads the post. "But the President there wants #TheChosen seen by his country, and so Season One has been dubbed and will be playing on national television."
More than 100,000 people have watched the clip applauding the show's cast and producers for reaching the unreached.
"This is beyond beautiful," one user commented. "It's truly a blessing."
"Jesus needs to be seen by everyone in these last days here in this world before the rapture of his church," another wrote.
"We're just seeing that this story resonates with people all over the world in so many different amazing ways," Young told media members during a virtual news conference. "And that's leading to a lot more opportunities for us globally."
Young said one of the goals for The Chosen is to "be one of the most watched TV shows ever."
"It's really great to see how we're expanding around the world," he said.
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