The Chosen writer, creator, and director, Dallas Jenkins, revealed that the fifth season of the hit biblical drama set a new series milestone by featuring the "biggest scope" and production that the show has ever had, all while resulting in some of "the most intimate" scenes of the entire series. As The Chosen has progressed, the show has grown tremendously. When the series first began, the only place to watch it was through The Chosen's official app. Now, after partnering with Lionsgate and Amazon Prime Video, Season 5 of the hit biblical drama will be available to over 200 million people.
The show follows Jesus Christ, his 12 Apostles, and others close to him in the time leading up to his crucifixion. Season 4 ended with Jesus getting ready to enter Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, an event that would kick off what is known as Holy Week.
The Chosen Season 5 (also titled "The Last Supper") has already premiered in theaters but will be released on Amazon Prime Video on June 15, 2025.
The Chosen Season 5 Creator Reveals Differences Between Season 1 & Season 5
In an exclusive interview with The Direct's Nathan Johnson while promoting The Chosen Season 5, the show's creator and writer, Dallas Jenkins, revealed the differences between Season 1 and Season 5. According to Jenkins, "people would be surprised to know that [Season 5] is not that much different from Season 1," even though the upcoming installment features the biggest scope the show has ever seen.
- The Direct: "So, how was being on set for this season different than in the past? It was definitely a more emotional season, so I'm just wondering how it was different, maybe this season than it was last season?"
Dallas Jenkins: I would say six seasons in, because we are now working on Season 6, I think people would be surprised to know that it's not much different from Season 1. Whether there's 100 people watching or 100 million people watching, we are still a group of flawed artists trying our best to make a show that honors the truth of these stories and does an effective job of capturing the greatest story ever told.
What's different about Season 5 is that it's the biggest scope and backdrop we've ever had. You know, it takes place in Jerusalem, with a million people all in one spot. So there's more intensity, there's more action, there's more scope than we've ever had. And The Last Supper, which took four days to film, is the most intimate. To spend four days with just Jesus's 12 Apostles in one room at one table, is a uniquely bonding and intimate experience.
So, at the same time, in the same season, you've got the biggest, broadest storytelling and filmmaking we've ever done, and also some of the most intimate storytelling we've ever done. So that's what's different about it. But I would say the process is still the same. We're just we're trying to do the best we can with the resources we can."
Jenkins also broke down the mindsets the cast and crew had heading into such an emotional and important part of the story of Jesus Christ. While filming a scene like The Last Supper could be difficult due to the amount of emotion needed, Jenkins revealed that The Chosen's Season 5 cast is "very close," making it easier for them to display an accurate portrayal of what likely happened in history.
- The Direct: "You've talked about the scope and then how intimate (Season 5) was. What kind of conversations did you have with the cast to help convey the emotions that this season needed?"
Jenkins: "We're always obsessed with humanity. Jesus and the Apostles are usually portrayed as stained glass windows or paintings, even when they are in film. We are saying, always, 'Let's not treat this as a biblical epic project. Let's treat it as a portrayal of human beings.' And when that's happening, and when I do my job as a director of putting the actors in that space of humanity and relationship, it actually becomes easy, because they've been together for five seasons now, (so) they're very close.
The characters on screen are very close, and when your teacher and leader and closest friend is telling you that he's not going to be with you anymore and that he's about to suffer and that, as they're doing their honoring of the Last Supper, the Passover meal, which is has tremendous significance for these people, and they're realizing it will be their last one with him. I think the circumstances play themselves out.
So we don't have to say, 'Okay, now is when you really have to focus on being emotional and sad.' I don't need to do that. We just need to remind ourselves of the circumstances and play them with humanity."
Anyone familiar with Christianity and the story of Jesus Christ knows how big an event The Last Supper was. However, Jenkins felt as though it was even more important to give The Last Supper its own season (as Season 5 is formally titled "The Last Supper"). According to the creator, "it was very important to imbue into the whole season the important truths that Jesus was leaving the disciples with before he died."
- The Direct: "Why did you think that the Last Supper was such an important event? This season has the title of The Chosen: The Last Supper. And The Last Supper plays out across each episode. So why was it so important for you to make this such a big event?"
Jenkins: "Well, I believe The Last Supper, in history and in the Gospels, is a significant event. Think about the things that take place. There's so many 'truth bombs,' as we call them, in The Last Supper. Jesus gives instructions for the future, he exhibits what humility and true leadership look like by washing the disciples' feet, which would have been scandalous and shocking at the time, as a rabbi and as a leader to do that for his students. And we also see the betrayal of Judas take place at the Last Supper, all under the the, you know, the umbrella of Passover.
And it's a Passover meal, which Jews had been doing for hundreds of years, and Jesus changed it a little bit to say, 'I am now the new thing that you are remembering and representing In the Passover meal.' So those are things that truly changed the course of history. The way that Christianity, and I would say any good leadership can be defined, is by many of the things that Jesus said and did at the Last Supper.
So in the midst of a week of big historical moments, the triumphal entry, the betrayal of Judas, the turning over the tables in the temple, Jesus's final days, we believed it was very important to imbue into the whole season the important truths that Jesus was leaving the disciples with before he died."
The full, spoiler-free interview can be viewed below:
