‘The Chosen’ wraps filming after 8 years, 528 days on set: ‘I’m grateful,’ Dallas Jenkins says 

Dallas Jenkins arrived on the set of The Chosen Thursday a little more relaxed than normal, a little less stressed and definitely less hurried. 

Thursday marked the final day Jenkins and his cast and crew would gather near Dallas, Texas, to film the popular series, which began in 2018 with a skeleton crew and a big dream: to make the first multi-season television series about Jesus – and, in the process, show His extraordinary impact on the people He encountered. 

After 528 days on set – spanning eight years, seven seasons and plenty of sweat and tears – Jenkins wrapped filming, sent everyone home and took a deep breath.

The Chosen was finished.

Of course, the public has yet to experience the final two seasons of the series, with Season 6 set to launch in November and Season 7, the final season, on schedule for a 2028 release.

But for Jenkins, Thursday represented the end of a marathon.

“This morning, when I was praying, I just said to God, ‘What a thing You did, what a thing You’ve done,’” Jenkins said in a video for fans, “and I’m grateful to be a part of it and I’m grateful that you’re part of it.”

Jenkins has long joked that once The Chosen was behind him, he would take a nap for a year before figuring out what comes next.

Thursday’s milestone doesn’t mean that The Chosen is in the can – post-production is still underway for the final two seasons – but it did mark a major milestone in a journey that once seemed improbable.

The Chosen began as a crowdfunded project struggling for attention and funding, but during the COVID-19 pandemic grew into a worldwide phenomenon. Eventually, its biggest stars, including Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus, landed on the covers of magazines and on the sets of late-night television shows.

Jenkins spoke Thursday like a man with a burden finally lifted from his shoulders.

Typically, on the way to set, Jenkins said, he’s focused only on the day ahead. But not on Thursday.

“I am usually [seeing] a little stress hanging over [me] – I’m usually prepping the scenes that day, and I’m just super focused,” he said as he drove to set Thursday. “I am in a great mood today. I woke up earlier than I wanted to, but then I couldn’t go back to sleep because I was just too excited. I’m very grateful for you for helping me get here and helping us get here.”

Jenkins even saw a little symbolism in the 528-day total. The company that produces The Chosen is named 5&2 Studios – a reference to the five loaves and two fish Jesus used to feed the 5,000 – while eight is often associated in biblical symbolism with new beginnings and resurrection.

“It’s kind of cool,” he said.

Season 6 will center on the crucifixion of Jesus and the events leading up to it, while Season 7 will bring the series to its long-planned conclusion with the resurrection and its aftermath.