ChosenCon 2024: A Celebration of Faith, Community, and Creativity as Fans Unite to Honor the Impact of The Chosen on Their Lives and Beyond.

September 20th and 21st, 2024

This year’s ChosenCon spread its nets over Florida and the globe, celebrating the worldwide phenomenon that is The Chosen.

There has never been a television series quite like The Chosen, which has been breaking record after record across the globe. Recently completing its fourth season, this series closely reflects the life of Jesus and the accounts of the Bible, primarily the events of the four Gospels.

Created and directed by Dallas Jenkins, The Chosen is genuinely and expertly written and produced in a way that far exceeds all its predecessors. Instead of portraying a limited, one-dimensional view of divinity, the series presents Jesus in a holy manner—fully God, yet fully human. He is depicted as compassionate, filled with sadness and laughter, experiencing hurt, fatigue, and friendship. This multidimensional portrayal makes Jesus relatable, as do all the characters in The Chosen. The cast and the writing of the show pack a powerful emotional punch, creating a deep connection with fans. As the series has invested in their hearts, fans have reciprocated, helping to shape The Chosen into what it is today.

One of the most notable events for fans is the annual summit known as the ‘Chosen Insiders Conference,’ or ‘ChosenCon.’ This year, it was held at the beautifully expansive Marriott World Center in Orlando. For two days, a sellout crowd of over 5,000 people filled the hallways and ballrooms, adorned in teal colors, first-century styled apparel, and countless Chosen t-shirts.

Paint by Number Mural

I have never experienced an event where everyone treated you like a friend and part of their family; it truly embodied what the Bible calls ‘The Body.’ This sense of community was most apparent during mealtime, where we gathered at large round tables with relative strangers to discuss the show and life.

During dinner on Friday night, I sat next to a couple from London who had been extras on The Chosen. They met on the set of the ‘Feeding of the 5,000’ and eventually got married. Stories like theirs were abundant, showcasing how the show has transformed lives.

ChosenCon was brimming with activities and opportunities to interact with cast members during ‘Meet & Greets.’ Guests could help paint a stunning mural of Jesus and the disciples, experience ‘Tent City,’ write a scroll that will feature in Season 6, and even virtually walk through a future set of the show.

Every hour featured different themed experiences, including the crowd-favorite ‘Skits & Bits,’ where cast members shared behind-the-scenes moments. There was also the (already) legendary trivia match between the character Quintus and members of The Chosen crew, alongside character Gaius with the cast. It felt like a hilarious mashup of Family Feud and a celebrity roast.

Brandon Potter (Quintus) and Kirk B.R. Woller (Gaius) heading up the cast vs. crew in the Trivia Match

In addition to these activities, there was incredible entertainment. Phil Wickham, an award-winning Christian artist, performed two worship sets—one early in the morning and another in the afternoon. Both were unforgettable, and the entire Jerusalem ballroom sang and danced together.

This year’s conference also featured the talents of Terry Fator, a star from America’s Got Talent. Known as the greatest ventriloquist in the world, he had the audience in awe and stitches, cleverly incorporating The Chosen into his act. Fator even had ‘Winston the Turtle’ sing The Chosen’s theme song!

Terry Fator with Maynard Thompkins

However, the real highlight of ChosenCon 2024 was the plethora of announcements and sneak peeks. While some details remain under wraps, I can share that a significant highlight was the founding of 5&2 Studios, named after the biblical ‘Loaves & Fish’ story, emphasizing that all increase comes from God alone. This independent studio grants Dallas and his team the freedom to expand their productions and future programming.

So, what can fans expect from these future projects, some of which are already in production? First up is an 18-episode animated series titled The Chosen Adventures, featuring the two children from the show, Abby and Joshua, as they search for answers and connect with Jesus and other characters from The Chosen. We were treated to a preview, and I must say, the artwork is stunning, while the writing is both heartfelt and hilarious. I cannot wait to watch it with my kids.

5&2 Studios is also working on a reality show, featuring celebrity survivalist Bear Grylls. This unscripted six-part adventure will push The Chosen cast members out of their comfort zones and into the wild.

In addition to these projects, there were announcements regarding The Chosen’s upcoming fifth, sixth, and final seventh seasons, as well as three new series emerging from 5&2 Studios. The first received an enthusiastic response: a three-season series based on the life of Moses. Another will focus on the life of Joseph. However, I was most excited about the announcement of The Way, a series that will explore the ‘Acts of the Apostles’ following the conclusion of The Chosen.

I can’t wait for all these productions that Dallas and his team have been tirelessly developing! If they remain true to their morals, commitments to God, and relationships with their dedicated fans, there’s every reason to believe they will achieve immense success.

ChosenCon was simply phenomenal, and it’s easy to see why. All of The Chosen’s directors, producers, writers, and actors possess strong convictions and beliefs in their work, and that passion is contagious to all who watch. Nothing on television is as immersive and life-changing as losing yourself in The Chosen and emerging as a better person because of it. If you’re wondering when the next ChosenCon will be or when Season 5 of The Chosen will premiere, the answer is simple: ‘SOON.’

INTERVIEWS

Ryan Swanson – Head Writer & Executive Producer

What is the process for you as a writer of The Chosen, and is it difficult to have something in the forethought of your mind but still keep the validation of the Bible intact going through that process?
Ryan Swanson – First, it’s never hard to keep the validation of the Bible intact. In fact, it’s our starting point, our organizing principle. It is always rule number one that the words of the Bible stay behind an electrified fence. We can’t touch it, we don’t co opt it, and we don’t alter it. And so, that part is taken care.

What we do in the margins, is simply to figure out where the camera is perched. So how do we get into that scene, if we’ve read about it maybe all our lives. Then see it in a new way, that offers the initiated, something of a new perspective, and the uninitiated remain, who’ve never read that Bible story. A piece of world-class energy that’s driven by choices and has dramatic consequences for the characters. So, that’s really what our process is.

That’s the way into this story and now we have Tyler, Dallas, and I, writing season six now and we are looking at 24 hours of the most well-known, well covered, emotionally draining, materially that you could conceive of. We are trying to reenact and are looking for ways into that. And we actually feel enthusiastic at times, because we think that we found a new way to tell this story that doesn’t focus on the things we’ve always been shown, from the felt board to other portrayals, as you know, the words out of Him.

Luke Dimyan and Noah James – Judas and Andrew

Your character, as one of the Disciples, has been broadened from the limitations of what we know Biblically of Judas. How do you come into that character and prepare yourself for it? And how have you seen your character develop throughout the show?
Luke Dimyan – I was very lucky. I grew up very familiar with the story, and then going into the realm of the arts, there’s a lot of secular interpretations of Judas, so a kind of the work has already been done for me, and so many interpretations, ideas, and possibilities.

I just see him as a character of infinite portrayals, and that just depends on production or the creator’s purpose and what they want to use him for. His entire history is wiped out because of this one mistake, as most traders are treated throughout history.

I’m always just excited and surprised by the possibilities and the range that he’s a character of like, limitless potential, and it can be used for whatever purpose the story requires.

Well, looking at the end, and that’s one of those indelible moments that we all know, is where Judas went outside and hung himself. How do you prepare for something like that?
Luke Dimyan – I memorized my lines. I have my lines first, I check the rig, make sure that it’s good; but is it? (lol)

Does it become real in a way though when you immerse yourself in a character or a scene like this?
Luke Dimyan – I make it a point to always have a good, healthy separation between character and myself. Everything, whatever I do on screen, I leave it right there on the set, on cameras, and then I hang up robe and I’m like, and that’s with any character.

I just think that’s for me, just a healthy point of professionalism that I’d always like to keep and carry throughout my career, no matter what, because I’ve seen and I’ve heard even performers that I aspire to, people who’ve mistreated people on set and who’ve been unprofessional because they took the commitment too far, and I don’t want it either.

So as far as far as that moment is concerned, I hope I do it justice. I will. I like to get the moment emotionally, but I’m not going to do it at the expense of my mental health or the mental and physical well-being of people.

Dallas Jenkins – Creator, Director and Writer

For The Chosen, you’ve taken the topic of the Bible, which there is nothing more important or emotionally charged, and you have been able to break every record of a crowd funded show in record time. How have you succeeded when so many other people have failed?
Dallas Jenkins – Well, I’m one of the people whose failed. I mean, you know, I think sometimes God puts the right project with the right person to tell it, and then the right audience to find it and that’s what happened. Nitro met glycerin early on in this process, and it really started.

What’s funny is it started with a little short film I did for my church and my friends on a farm in Illinois, only 20 minutes from my house. And that was really the thing when this really first blew up. We got 16,000 people, raising ten million for season one based on that little short film and that doesn’t make sense, the numbers don’t add up. And so, it’s easy for me to actually not have to take too much credit for it, because I’m like, I’m not this good. (lol)

So, I’m able to just follow, and watch, and listen, as this happens. So, we do our part, but I can’t, you know, when someone says, ‘Well, what’s the secret listening to God, and if He’s got something for you, then make sure you act on it. But sometimes that’s not what we’re called to. That’s okay, too.

Being only a couple weeks away from the one-year anniversary of October 7th and the horrific things that happened in Israel. How did that affect you and the cast and crew, and how also, is it important to you guys, that you embrace the Jewish culture and the coming together, where it seems like everyone else, and the world wants to divide it?
Dallas Jenkins – Well, obviously political topics can be divisive, but there’s really nothing controversial about the fact that we are a Jewish show. Our show set in Israel, with the main characters all Jewish. It’s the roots of our faith. We’re unabashed about that. We’re unashamed about that. So of course, we stand with the needle for Israel.

Now, of course, there are innocent people involved in this conflict from every side, and we care about everybody. We don’t want anyone to be victimized by hate or by violence, and that needs to be said because it’s not Israel as a monopoly. There are people on both sides who don’t deserve this, and no one wants to see the pain and misery that comes from it, but yes, we are a Jewish show.

Season Four of The Chosen is done. Now, here he is at the gate and going into Passion Week, and then ultimately, the crucifixion. How do you get yourself physically and mentally prepared for everything that goes into that?
Dallas Jenkins – You know, people ask me that a lot. How are you preparing for the crucifixion and for the crucifixion season? I mean, right now we’re writing it, so we’re getting close to that moment in the season, but it is so vital, I can’t stress this enough to really focus on the story in the order that we’re telling it.

Because if you start thinking ahead while we’re doing a scene, and we start thinking about the crucifixion, well that impacts the storyline that we’re telling, and the characters who don’t know at this point in the story what’s to come. And in fact, that’s part of the point of the story, is that the disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying. He told them multiple times it was going to happen. It went right over their heads because they didn’t have a hallway for it. So, we can’t play in the scene that they’re thinking about what’s to come.

So, we actually try to avoid talking about it too often, because otherwise it’s going to be too emotional too soon. So, I want to get it right, but this whole story, it’s not just the presentation that matters in the story of Jesus. So, we want to make sure we take our own season at a time, one episode at a time, one scene at a time. When we get there, I’m sure we’ll do it.”

Vanessa Benavente – Mother Mary

How would you describe playing the pivotal role of Jesus’s mother?
Vanessa Benavente – How do I describe it? I mean, it’s been life changing! Not only because you know of the challenges as an actor, but you also want a role that’s meaning has a purpose and has an amazing story to tell. And you know, like, Mary couldn’t be bigger than that in that respect.

But also, because I feel like, it has given me a chance to take a look at my motherhood and take a look at me and at the women in my in my family. How we mother and how we go through life, and just have an appreciation for that. Because of a mother to two children, this role couldn’t have come at a better time.

And just a follow up question as you’ve talked about being a mother. I think one of the greatest scenes from The Chosen was when Jesus is completely wiped out, and here you are in the mother role and cleaning his feet and caring for Him. What was it like in that moment?
Vanessa Benavente: I think it really shows what The Chosen is about. It’s about human interaction. It’s about humans and how they dealt with this situation, 2000 plus years ago, and so being in a position where, as a mature woman in those times to tell my story and how I feel, you know, a little bit left behind because my child doesn’t need me anymore.

And how I, my whole life have been taking care of Jesus, from my whole ministry have been taking care of Him, and how I don’t feel like I have a lot to do now in this, in His life, and how I feel like you you’ve never seen Mary talk like that, never, and just that is a beautiful thing about that episode.

But then to really go back, I mean, to go to that, to the end of that episode and say, no, no He does need me. Because I remember so many people, so many people, moms, and dads, writing messages to me on social media, saying ‘We just dropped our child off in college’ and like that was there. That’s what it brought to them, like that sense of, oh, they don’t need me anymore. And yes, they do, you know because they will be until forever.

And I’m like having goosebumps right now. Let me tell you this, because it’s such a beautiful, so simple, and it says so many things, and that’s why I love the writers of the show. If you haven’t heard this from me before, I love the writing, the writing, and the writers of the show, because that’s what they do best, with very little resources, they were able to tell so many stories and be so intimate. And it’s truly beautiful leading up to whole week and the crucifixion, Mary must undergo a lot of different emotions.

Bear Grylls

What has The Chosen meant to you and you being in difficult places, difficult situations? How has your faith helped you through those times? 
Bear Grylls – Yeah, faith has been a quiet part of my life for many years. You know, I looked at it like been a secret backbone in my life, through the dark times, through the good times. But I think if you spend enough time in mother nature, pretty quickly you realize on your own that you’re not very strong. You need something more. And faith has been that, you know, Christ has been a light, light to a dark path, strength to a failing body. That’s how I look at it.

So, you know, we’ve never done a partnership with the show or with any other TV show before, so this felt like the right one to do at the right time and and it’s been amazing to do! I think fans of The Chosen that gets to see it, it’s not like taking Julia Roberts or someone away, where people tend to know kind of what they’re like anyway, The Chosen cast is different.

They’re so loved, but they’re not really known for their personal lives and actually, they’re real stories. They’re from all different cultures, backgrounds, faiths, and everyone assumes they’re all going to be, you know, Christian or believing or this, you know. But it’s like, actually, their journeys have been transformational for their lives. It’s really powerful! But maybe you haven’t heard those things before. So, to get to know the struggles, the difficulties that the church has been in their life, as much as I am amazing!

Was there stretching that went with them, physical moments, or times when they did what they thought they couldn’t do?
Bear Grylls – I think there wasn’t an episode that we’ve done where people haven’t had that every time. I mean, just chatting to them now, they’re going, ‘oh my god!’ still thinking about it all day and night. I can’t believe we did that, you know that.

So, I love that part of my job, you know, we kind of take it for granted. But even just eating grubs or hanging off the bottom of helicopter, you know, it’s like a day-to-day thing for us, you know, but you’ve never done it before. It’s a big deal, and it’s what I love about my job. You’re introducing people to something amazing!

Elizabeth (Liz) Tabish – Mary Magdelene

Outside of Jesus, there’s no more loved character than Mary Magdalene.
Elizabeth Tabish – That’s very sweet of you to say.”

What is it like taking on the responsibility of such a prolific role as her?
Elizabeth Tabish: It’s an honor and it’s a privilege. Every time I feel like it’s too much or too overwhelming, I just look at Jonathan (who played Jesus). I see how much he has to carry, especially filming Season Five, I’m seeing it really affect him in these uncanny sorts of parallel ways to the story.

And I look around at everyone that’s putting this whole thing together and the effort and the time and the sweat and the tears and everything, and I just feel like I’m so grateful to be a part of something that is affecting people so beautifully. It’s hard to worry too much about, you know, I’ll take that.

Seeing the strength of your character and how it affects so many people. What are some of the testimonies of people that relate to your character and the hardships they’ve gone through and overcome and persevered?
Elizabeth Tabish – Yeah, there have been some that shared their own experiences. They feel very seen by me. They feel very represented by her, like I’ve gone through that. I know that feeling being somewhere so tragic and despairing and to be completely changed and transformed.

Yeah, I mean, people have shared so much with me. It’s also made me realize that in my experience, pain that I’ve gone through, in order to understand this character. I’m not alone in that, either. So, because of this role in a lot of ways, it educates so many people to make me realize that like pain is a human experience. We have to go through it sometimes, but it makes us who we are. Beautiful things for God to use that pain in a beautiful way.

How has The Chosen affected you in your personal life with knowing more about, not just your character, but about the Bible in general?
Elizabeth Tabish – Yeah, I mean, at first, I was always pretty cynical about religion, I had a great experience for church people, and so I kind of just like, forgot about it, honestly and I think I’ve tried to find God in other ways.

You know, there’s the experience of working on this show, of being reminded of what Jesus was really teaching, and who He really is, and the miracles He creates has reminds us of who He is, and it has changed my understanding of thoughts.

Like sometimes we have it in our head and what it is, and I get to witness its play out. It’s so many more miracles than I ever imagined, so many more healings, so many beautiful parables that, like you can go deep in.

Now, there’s so much that I’m excited to see everyone get excited about! The extent of Jesus’s experiences, life’s message and not just pull from certain parts of the Bible but it’s nice to see it all together.