'The Chosen' Surpasses Baywatch in Popularity: Series to be Translated into 600 Languages
The hit TV series The Chosen continues to grow in popularity and climb to new heights of success. Now the multi-season TV phenomenon about the life and ministry of Jesus is set to pass Baywatch in an international distribution category.
Brad Pelo, president of The Chosen, recently announced that the show will pass Baywatch this year as having the most "dubbings"– a process that allows voiceover actors to translate the show into their native language.
Baywatch currently holds the record among television series with 34 dubs, Christian Headlines reports.
The show aired on NBC in 1989 and was cancelled after one season. It starred David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson, and Yasmine Bleeth. It was revived in 1991 for the syndication market and aired for 11 seasons.
Meanwhile, The Chosen is set to surpass Baywatch when it is 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.
Every dollar donated will be matched by the foundation toward the production of the series and the marketing and translation into other languages.
"In the dubbing process, they do voice-overs, so they cast actors in the local language to play the roles of Jesus and Simon, etc.," Pelo told Christian Headlines. "And then they voice over top of the actor's voice. That's dubbing."
Pelo added that the production company will be partnering with Lionsgate to help with international distribution.
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"We get to retain control of the creation of the show. ... The same people that have written the show in the past will write it in the future. Dallas will continue to direct it," Pelo said. "The only role that Lionsgate plays is once we make the show, they want to get it out to the world, just like we do."
According to Angel Studios, the series distributor, The Chosen has been streamed more than 500 million times and has now been seen by more than 108 million people since Season 1 premiered.
The series is available to watch for free on The Chosen App or the Angel Studios App. It's also available on other popular streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
In addition, the first three seasons of The Chosen will air on broadcast television for the first time, beginning Sunday, July 16 on the CW Network.
"The Chosen is based on the biggest IP of all time and is truly a one-of-a-kind series that tells this historically significant story in a captivating, dramatic and premium way," commented Brad Schwartz, president of Entertainment for The CW Network. "This show has already connected deeply with viewers around the world, and The CW will expand its audience even further."
