Non-Christian Audience Tunes in as 'The Chosen' Reaches Stunning Number of Non-Believers
A new survey finds that the hit television series "The Chosen" and its depiction of the Gospel is reaching a stunning number of non-believers.
Over half of the viewers of the Bible-based drama are "either practicing Christians or cultural Christians," Katherine Warnock, the show's vice president of original content, told Christian Headlines.
"Then about 30 percent were either curious about Christianity or just no Christian faith. And we were deeply surprised about that," she shared.
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As CBN News has reported, "The Chosen" tries to read between the lines in depicting the ministry of Jesus, telling the Gospel story through the eyes of His disciples and other people who encounter Him. The series is the largest crowdfunded TV project in history and has continued to climb to new heights of success.
"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 popular streaming services including Peacock, Apple TV, fubo TV, Google Play, Netflix, and Amazon Prime.
Earlier this month, the show's fourth season premiered in theaters finishing in the second spot during its box office opening and it brought in $6,035,823 in its first weekend.
Warnock shared that she and her team conducted a survey to see who is watching the show and they learned that it is a hit among Gen Z.
"We were also surprised about the level of Gen Z and younger that were consuming our show because our core audience is definitely millennial and older," Warnock said. "But just to see not only the balance between females and males watching our show, which is wonderful—because the church is definitely not that balanced at times—and then to see the younger generation but also the non-Christian faith audience come to the table has been a joy."
Last year, she told Peer Magazine the show's team has a "huge passion for Gen Z" and they have worked to reach a wide audience with the Gospel message.
And their dedication is paying off.
"We have not only evangelicals, Catholics, Protestants, Baptists. We also have Agnostics, (atheists), Buddhists, Hindus, even Satanists writing us every day going, 'okay, this show is changing my life,'" Warnock continued. "'This is helping me overcome depression and suicidal ideation. This is helping me—even though I'm not a Christian, I've now become a student of Jesus.' That's pretty extraordinary."
"When Dallas and the writers say, 'Hey, we want the world to be introduced to the authentic Jesus' — they mean it," she added.
The Chosen will be wrapping up season 4 in theaters this weekend.
It was the first time for a streaming TV show to have all of its episodes released in theaters.
The first three episodes were in theaters for two weeks starting on Feb. 1. The next three episodes wrapped up their run ahead of the Feb. 29 premiere of Episodes 7-8.
As for the next season, Warnock says it will focus on Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem. Subsequently, Season 6 will tell the story of the crucifixion and Season 7 will concentrate on the resurrection.
Warnock told CBN last December that the show is a "global phenomenon" simply because it gives viewers a glimpse into the humanity and authenticity of what it means to follow Jesus.
"What has drawn me in as a true fan, myself, is the permission to be in process," she explained. "We see clearly played out through 'The Chosen' God's permission for His people to be in process and journey with Him as we become more like Him every day."
