'The Chosen' cast gives a peek behind the curtain of season 5: 'Stakes could not be higher'
ORLANDO, Florida — Season five of "The Chosen" will be one of the most intense and emotional seasons to date as the biblical series tackles Holy Week, the days leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus, director Dallas Jenkins and key cast members have revealed.
What's it about?
Season five will pick up where season four ended, just before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In the season four finale, Jesus and His apostles travel to Bethany to comfort Lazarus' sisters, Martha and Mary, following Lazarus' death four days earlier. At Lazarus' tomb, Jesus performs the miracle of raising him from the dead. News of this reaches the Sanhedrin, and the High Priest begins plotting to have Jesus handed over to the Romans for execution.
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Holy Week commemorates the final days of Jesus Christ's life on earth, leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection. It begins on Palm Sunday and culminates on Easter Sunday.
Speaking to The Christian Post on the teal carpet at the fan event ChosenCon, Jenkins weighed in on how the series will handle the monumental week leading up to the Last Supper.
"This is the most important and influential week in the history of the world," the 49-year-old director said. "We're trying to cover all of it. We don't want to rush through it."
The season aims to capture the gravity of the events without sacrificing the nuanced depth that fans have come to expect, the director said. Jenkins emphasized the show's signature approach of slowing down the narrative to explore not just the actions of the characters but their inner worlds.
"We take our time with each of the stories," he explained. "That's 'The Chosen' way."
For Jenkins, the upcoming episodes are a culmination of years of character development as the enemies of Jesus, His followers, His family, and His closest friends converge in one place, setting the stage for an explosive confrontation.
"Everyone's in one place … for one week. It's explosive," Jenkins teased.
What's going to happen with the disciples?
Noah James, who portrays Andrew, echoed the heightened intensity of the coming season: "When you think about eight episodes, all encapsulated for those few days, it's a pressure cooker," James said.
"The disciples, some of us deal with it better than others."
Andrew, who grapples with anxiety throughout the series, finds himself struggling under the mounting pressure. James told CP that Andrew might experience a setback in his personal journey, facing doubts and uncertainty about the future.
"The stakes could not be higher," James said. "They really feel that. Late at night, the disciples are going, 'What is going on? What is tomorrow going to bring?' And they can never even imagine the next day and then the next day. There's plenty of stuff that happens during Holy Week that the disciples never could've imagined. It is a tumultuous ride, to say the least."
Actor Paras Patel told CP that Matthew, a character depicted as neurodivergent, has faced his own challenges throughout the series, from being misunderstood to searching for personal redemption. "He's just wanting to be a better person," Patel explained. "He doesn't want to have to fight, he's also just looking to grow."
As Matthew moves closer to the crucifixion, Patel noted that his character and the entire cast feel this emotional toll. "It's very emotional," Patel said, describing season five as hard to watch and even harder to perform. "Knowing that the crucifixion is near ... it's just making it even harder that we're so close to the cast. It's a bit heartbreaking."
Luke Dimyan, who portrays Judas, said that throughout the series, he's sought to portray the disciple who betrays Jesus as complex, torn between his love for the Son of God and the choices that lead him down a tragic path.
"I'm taking everything step by step," Dimyan said, adding that he portrays Judas in season five with the same heart and love for Jesus that has been present since the beginning.
"He is the same guy that you've seen at the start of the show, with the same heart and the same wants, the same love and ambition for the people that he's around. It's just his soul and heart might break a little bit, and he doesn't know how to save it without making a survival instinct decision that he'll later come to regret. "
The emotional weight of season five is not lost on Elizabeth Tabish, who plays Mary Magdalene.
"I can’t believe it’s kind of coming up on us," she said. "We’ve been working on this show for so long, and I’m nervous about it. I want to do it right."
Filming for "The Chosen" season five began in April 2024 and recently wrapped. Production started in Utah before moving to Texas for the rest of production over the summer.
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
