Filming is underway for “The Chosen: Season Six,” and as the cast and crew prepare to shoot one of the most critical scenes of this season, they are asking fans for one thing – prayers.
The show’s creator and director, Dallas Jenkins, hopped on social media recently to announce that the show’s production is underway in Italy and they are filming one of the most critical scenes of the season: the crucifixion.
“I’m filming and I’ve got some pretty intense crucifixion stuff this week, including mostly night shooting,” he explained. “So it’s going to be an intense week, very difficult. So please keep us in mind and in your prayers for that.”
Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in the popular series, also reached out to his fans asking for prayer.
In an Instagram post earlier this month, the actor wrote, “My dear Friends…This month, I’m filming one of the most sacred, painful, and defining moments in all of human history: the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.”
“I’d be lying if I said it’s ‘business as usual’. Or easy. Or ‘fun scenes to film.’ It’s not. It’s heavy. It’s humbling. And it’s holy. But in preparation for, and amidst this profound responsibility, I’ll be uniting myself more intentionally to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the very heart that broke for us,” he continued.
Roumie added, “If you feel called, please continue to keep me in your prayers. Myself, our cast, and crew need them now more than ever. It’s been a period time of mental, physical, and spiritual warfare.”
Much of the series has been leading up to this pivotal moment.
As CBN News reported, the monumentally popular TV series about the life of Jesus and His disciples was created with the end in mind.
During season five they focused on the Last Supper and Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. Season 6 focuses on the crucifixion, and season 7, the last season, will focus on Christ’s resurrection.
Dallas shared that as he works to bring “the most famous moment in the scriptures” to life, his challenge is making it a personal and intimate experience to watch.
“That’s the challenge,” he said. “Making sure that the audience still can connect with the characters, not just the size of the story.”
For now, the cast and crew are adjusting to filming in Matera, Italy.
Jenkins said he wanted to film there, instead of their normal set locations in Texas and Utah because he wanted “authenticity with the crucifixion on the backdrop of a real horizon.”
George Harrison Xanthis, who plays the apostle John, told the outlet that filming in Matera has helped his performance.
He explained that when they film on set in Texas and Utah “you do step from civilization into the ancient world, whereas here you are just always in the ancient world…It’s amazing.”
Other actors recently shared a different perspective on the experience.
Shaan Sharma, who plays Shmuel, shared during a YouTube livestream that filming the scenes has not been easy, due to pesky critters.
“What I remember about shooting this scene, for a few of us are huddled around trying to figure out what to do, is there were so many flies attacking us at that time,” he said. “Some got in my mouth and it was crazy. We didn’t see it in the shot but we were in a swarm of bugs,” he explained.
Elijah Alexander, who plays the Roman investigator Atticus Aemilius Pulcher, shared that experiencing jetlag made shooting the crucial scenes this season very difficult.
“I couldn’t sleep and I was worried about it because I want to be present and focused and putting my best foot forward from this incredible opportunity and everybody has been so emotional and bringing their A-game,” he explained. “(It’s been) beautiful to watch.”
As CBN News reported, during a 2-hour Q&A in April, Jenkins told fans that filming for the new season had already begun and crew members usually worked from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
The show’s director noted at the time the series was taking a little longer to shoot, therefore a premiere date was not “locked in.”
“Season 6 is going to take us longer to film than any season we’ve ever done, by far, so that, of course, then pushes the post-production process as well,” he explained.
The director listed a couple of reasons for the delay.
One was that the crew requested more time to edit the show.
“The process of getting these seasons to you at the cadence that we’ve been doing has been extraordinarily taxing on the team,” Jenkins said. “The quality control process has been much faster and tighter than most shows and movies. That’s caused a lot of pain, a lot of challenges.”
“The team that works on this is extraordinarily stretched thin, and so it’s just a very, very difficult process,” he continued. “They’ve been begging me to give a little bit more of a cushion. And so we’re going to be doing that for future seasons.”
Jenkins explained another reason for the delay is coordinating international logistics, including releasing the series in other languages.
“That takes a lot of time – the translation, the dubbing, the subtitling, all of that takes a very long time,” he shared. “We are trying to release as many… languages at one time as we can.”
Jenkins encouraged fans to remember that this project is not backed by a large studio production company.
“We’re not owned by some big studio. We don’t have a billion dollars at our disposal to make all this work. We’re doing this, a lot of this, from scratch, and so it just takes time, and it’s very difficult. So please be patient with us as we get through that,” he implored.
For now, fans are enjoying Season Five which was released on Amazon Prime on June 15th.
This season will be available for free on the show’s app of the same name and website beginning Sept. 13.
