The Chosen

My hat is off to Dallas Jenkins.  In his multi-season series The Chosen, This guy pulled off one of the most difficult things in not just Christian entertainment but, entertainment period. His streaming series on the life of Jesus is running on all four cylinders.  (Check out the trailer here):

First, it is well-written and well-paced. In the age of binge TV he knows the art of the cliffhanger ending that convinces you to watch "just one more".

 Second, the production values are solid--for a crowd-sourced project he spent his pennies wisely without appearing to cut corners. and we're able to buy that this is first century Palestine.

He has also succeeded in created engaging characters and he has drawn us deeply into their lives. Kudos to the actors for bringing Jenkin's vision to life. Peter (Shahar Isaac), Matthew (Paras Patel), Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish),  Nicodemus (Erick Avari), the Roman soldiers, and of course Jesus Himself (Jonathan Roumie) are all real people, not stiff characters from Renaissance paintings reciting Bible-sounding lines in British accents.

 Finally, Jenkins has somehow managed to avoid being preachy, political, or pat. This is quite an accomplishment as I'm sure for any auteur the temptation to use this platform to push an agenda must have been hard to resist. This is the son of Jerry Jenkins, the author of the famed Left Behind series, but you don't get the sense of  this being an Evangelical culture-war set piece.  I love the respect Jenkins shows to Jewish culture; you get the sense he really did His homework to get the details right. I love that the people you see onscreen are a vibrant cultural melange that surely represent what Palestine must have looked like at that time. Jesus may not be black in Jenkin's treatment, but at least Joseph, His father, was! I find it interesting that most of the characters speak in what I guess is supposed to be an Aramaic accent, but the Romans all have American accents.  I kind of love it. I mean why not? For years every Jesus flick seems to have people speaking with British accents-the change is refreshing.

Add to all of these elements that are almost always neglected in most films for the Christian market,  the genuine spiritual heart that under girds it all.  This is a series that will drive you back to the Bible, that will deepen your desire to know and follow Jesus. You get a real sense that the Holy Spirit is at work in this production.  I'm curious as to how people not already steeped in Christian faith would receive it? How much of my positive response comes from already knowing the back story, already buying into it, and relishing seeing it told in a fresh new way?  Would someone outside of Christianity be drawn in to the story as well?

Of course timing is everything, and the timing couldn't be better for a project like this. The story of Jesus, I think, might be best told in this format--a multi-season series. A movie or mini-series is just not enough for the deep dive required of the The Greatest Story Ever Told.  If he takes his time, Jenkins could go for years on this (or perhaps tie it up in three seasons matching the three years of Jesus' public ministry). Further, this particular time in entertainment is perfect for a project like this.  Jenkins was able to crowd-source his funds rather than be beholden to one of the big studios, and he was able to release it himself, directly to the public.  And then of course, it has come out at a time when a lot of people happen to have a lot of spare time on their hands. There will be people who have already burned through their Netflix catalog, people who ordinarily might not give a show like this a shot, that might take a look just for something new to watch.  This project comes out at a time when our world has been turned upside down and and inside out. There may be people who are looking for something more, something hopeful.  Maybe, just maybe, they find it in this series.

I've already pitched in to help make the second season a reality. The big question is can Jenkins sustain what he's started? Can he avoid the dreaded second season slump that seems to beset so many excellent programs?  By God's grace, I believe he can.  If you haven't done so already, I encourage you to choose to put The Chosen at the top of your streaming queue. 

And now to my usual every three days Dispatch from Coronaville:  

I was only 500 short on my prediction of the total cases, with the actual number coming in at 1,648,991, representing a 4.7% increase. That percentage was exactly what I predicted.  I was 1,100 or so over in my predictions of total deaths with the actual tally being 97,670, a 3.6% increase.  Based on these numbers I would expect by Wednesday, May 27 to be looking at 1,726, 494 total cases and 101,186 total deaths.

As for new cases, all three states posted gains, with Florida and Ohio's increases being modest and Nebraska a little steeper. My fourteen days of consecutive decline cannot begin just yet.
Florida: 50,859 total cases, 0.23% of the population
Ohio: 31,911 total cases, 0.27% of the population
Nebraska: 12,134 total cases, 0.62% of the population

Both Florida and Ohio showed a decrease in new deaths while Nebraska  held steady with another 12 folks succumbing to the virus over the past the three days.
Florida: 2,236 total deaths, a rate of 4.4%
Ohio: 1,969 total deaths, a rate of 6.2%
Nebraska: 153 total deaths, a rate of 1.3%