The ultimate 'The Chosen' watch guide for Lent

MANILA, Philippines — This year, the Lenten season starts on February 22, Ash Wednesday, and what better way to commemorate the season than to binge-watch the life of Jesus Christ in an equally historic piece of work?

"The Chosen" is considered to be the first multi-season series about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and it became possible primarily because of crowdfunding — by 2021, viewers had contributed $40 million (P2.2 billion) — the biggest in television history.

Showrunner Dallas Jenkins has envisioned a multiple episode-based portrayal of Jesus viewed through the eyes of the people surrounding him rather than just himself, as most biblical projects often did.

The result was "The Chosen," which just finished its third season on top of a novel series by Jenkins' father, a graphic novel series, and companion Bible study materials.

In line with the "pay it forward" efforts of the show to ensure as many people get to watch, "The Chosen" is streaming on multiple platforms such as Netflix and Prime Video.

The official YouTube account of "The Chosen" has even uploaded the full first season — eight episodes divided into four videos — which follows the early beginnings of Jesus' ministry through his first miracles and meeting the individuals that would become his disciples.

Another public effort is that the website of Angel Studios, which has been distrubuting the show since 2021, has all three seasons of "The Chosen" available for free; again made possible by the "pay it forward" efforts of viewers.

The second season of "The Chosen" sees Jesus extending his ministry to other regions and performing for miracles, while recently concluded third season has Jesus returning to his hometown and sending the Apostles to preach on their own, troubling as it may appear especially with authorities being concerned.

In a previous email interview with Philstar.com, Jenkins shared that the content in his series and how he portrays Jesus comes from thinking about Jesus' humanity.

"I desired to tell stories through the eyes of those who actually met Jesus, so that perhaps viewers could be changed in the same way the disciples were," Jenkins also said. "I've been thinking about these things for many years, and I finally get to share them in 'The Chosen'."

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