'The Chosen' Season Five sets the table for Holy Week

While it began as an independent crowd-funded series, "The Chosen" has now become a global phenomenon as the most watched series in the world.

At the Season Five premiere in North Texas, 5&2 Studios put on the largest season opening event yet, with a significant Catholic presence. Numerous Catholic journalists, bloggers and social media influencers gathered with hundreds of other supporters, media professionals and fans to usher in the eight episodes that present the start of the dramatic events of Holy Week.

The Chosen: Season 5 – “The Last Supper”

• Premiering in theaters March 28, April 4 and April 11 (remaining in theaters through April 20): Find it in a theater near you
• Watch the trailer 
• Streaming exclusively on Amazon’s Prime Video starting in June

Red carpet premieres are often full of glitz and glamor with a focus on the presence of the show's stars. For "The Chosen," however, the focus was on the people -- fans who were physically present and thousands virtually present through a global livestream. Many of the actors and producers spent less time interviewing on the red carpet and more time with the fans -- a characteristic of the series since it went viral, not through big Hollywood studio distribution, but by crowdfunding. The fans made it what it is today.

They will not be disappointed with this season that covers the emotionally charged Last Supper with flashbacks to Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem and other events that lay the groundwork for the Lord's paschal mystery.

Dallas Jenkins -- creator, writer, director and producer -- says premieres are not what he considers when working on the series. He instead focuses on the content that he hopes will touch hearts and souls.

Of Season Five, Jenkins says, "We've been writing toward these moments the whole time. When we first sat down to plot the shows, we said, alright, we know where we're going, how do we set it up so when we get there it's more emotionally impactful and not just a stained-glass window or a painting. We want to make sure you don't look at it [the show] like it's a painting. These were human beings…. We're going to give you the personal, intimate, relational, human aspects of the story."

And with over 250 million views, the show proves that its relatability has touched audiences all over the world.

Life is a mix of suffering and joy, as the opening events of Holy Week convey with the jubilant entry into Jerusalem. George Xanthis, who plays the Apostle John, reflects on how the audience knows what's going to happen, but the disciples have no idea. He comments, "They think the messiah is coming who is going to be this soldier on a horse going to defeat the Romans, but he's actually going to surrender himself for our sins. And it's never what you expect. And that's what surrender is all about -- not knowing." The audience feels the insecurities of the Apostles while understanding Jesus' pensive and somber moods.

Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in the series, presents a depth of emotion in the episodes of Season Five that surpasses any in the show up until now. When asked what his interior feelings were as he portrayed Jesus knowing his passion was imminent, he said, "It felt as profound to film as I hope it is being received … and continues to be received by people throughout the entire season." He continues, "For me, it was extremely sacred to approach it."

Roumie said his spiritual director was on set as he filmed these scenes, offering the sacraments and covering him with prayer. Without that prayer, he says, "If I had to think about what I was doing and the magnitude of it, I probably would have collapsed under the weight thinking that I was on my own." Prayer helps us rely on God alone, and Roumie intimately believes in the power of God when he says, "I tried to bring the fullness of my experience as a Catholic to the role, to those scenes specifically."

An impressive aspect of "The Chosen" is the spirituality that exudes from everyone involved, regardless of whether they are Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish or agnostic. Each person believes this is an other-worldly story to tell. For writer Tyler Thompson, the reality of bringing the Bible to life through the series tops all other jobs. He says, "At the end of the day, a lot of the work is very solitary, so when we get to share it with the group of people here in person it is really remarkable." He continues, "There really are no words. We fumble through it, but even as writers, we sort of lack the language for how remarkable this all is."

The premiere showcased how astonishingly the series has touched people like no other. People shared freely with strangers that their lives were changed as a result of the show.

Jenkins believes that both filmmakers and audience are given a spiritual task. He says, "Christ has something specific for you that he might not have for me even though the message of salvation is for both of us. And that's what I'm learning more than ever ... It has impacted my personal life, but it's also impacted the show."

With millions of followers on social media, Season Five will surely ignite a spiritual revolution that brings the world to its knees during this holiest of seasons.

— Sister Nancy Usselmann, OSV News. Sister Nancy Usselmann, a Daughter of St. Paul, is director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies in Los Angeles and a media literacy education specialist.

Pictured at top: Jonathan Roumie, center, plays Christ in "The Chosen: Last Supper - Part 1," a theatrical release of the first two episodes of the TV series' fifth season. The OSV News classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association. (OSV News/Fathom)