770M views and counting: The Chosen's Derral Eves blessed to be part of a global phenomenon
It is quite evident that the most successful crowdfunded series of all time, "The Chosen," has had a tremendous ministry impact through the 770 million episodes to date that have been streamed worldwide.
In what has become a global phenomenon, the multi-episode television drama based on the life of Jesus, is gearing up to release Season 5 early next year.
Through the first four seasons, hearts have been pierced, lives have been saved, and all types of ministry has taken place.
“I think reading the Bible, going through it, going to church, and having discussions is great,” says Derral Eves, who has been with "The Chosen" since its beginning in 2017. “But this show gives me context to consider things I never thought about. It allows me to go deeper into things that I never would've considered previously. That's been a beautiful part of this project.”
The show’s popularity was never more evident than at the recent Chosen Insiders Conference (affectionately dubbed ChosenCon), where nearly 6,000 devout fans gathered in Orlando, Florida, to celebrate the program via panel discussions, cast meet and greets, sneak previews and special announcements.
Among those special announcements was the unveiling of several new projects including an animated children’s series ("The Chosen Adventures"), a series based on the Acts of the Apostles ("The Way of The Chosen") and an outdoor adventure program ("The Chosen in the Wild") featuring cast members and survivalist turned television reality star Bear Grylls.
"Nearly every time I encounter a viewer, they say something about wanting more Bible content from us. I always say we need to not get ahead of ourselves and remain focused, but now we've got a robust enough team to expand our efforts,” says show creator and director Dallas Jenkins.
An interesting outcome of the series that does not get discussed much, though, is what happens behind the scenes to generate and heighten interest in the series.
Eves is the marketing genius behind "The Chosen" and is known as “the godfather of search engine optimization, a tag given to him by Search Engine Journal. He joins us on the "Crossmap Podcast" to chat about why this series, which began as a short film for a local church, is closing in on 1 billion views and provides a slight snapshot into what Season 5 will bring.
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