During this quarantine, my mom recommended a show to me about the life of Christ. Now usually, when you hear that, you tend to shy away because it sounds boring or cheesy. But after watching The Chosen, I can genuinely recommend it to you as an incredible (and accurate) show with a plot as well as characters that you will want to be best friends with.

The show mainly follows the storyline of Peter and Matthew after an opening glimpse of Mary Magdalene. Matthew is a mathematics genius and a tax collector who is shunned by almost all Jews, including his parents. Dallas Jenkins, the director and co-writer of the show, decided to portray Matthew on the Aspergers spectrum based on how his Gospel is written. Matthew becomes the interest of his region’s centurion, Quintus, who eventually asks him to follow Simon Peter to find out what he is up to.

Simon Peter is a mess at the beginning of the show. He made a deal with Quintus that he would catch someone fishing on the Sabbath, which is against Jewish law, in order to pay his tax debts. That person ends up being his close friend Zebedee (father of the show’s comedic duo James and John), and Simon is left in a tough spot. Quintus gives him the ultimatum to either pay back his debts before sunrise or go to prison. Simon stays up all night trying to catch enough fish to pay his taxes, a feat that Matthew, watching this all play out, decides is impossible… unless there is some sort of miracle, of course. 

The Chosen does an incredible job of portraying the humanity of Jesus. It feels like you’re watching any other show where you might have a favorite character or particularly like that one funny scene. But this show is about the life of Christ! Jesus isn’t shown as being totally superior, speaking wisdom every time He opens His mouth. He is very much the friend of the apostles. And even though this humanity of Jesus is so prominent in the show, it actually helps to see the supernatural reality of Him. Jesus is not one or the other; His is a supernatural humanity that’s expressed in everything He does. 

The miracle of the fish is the first miracle performed in the show, followed by Peter’s internal conversion. The characters Mary of Nazareth, John the Baptist, Nicodemus, James, John, doubting Thomas, the paralytic, the leper, and so many more which the show portrays are easy to empathize with. The actors portray the Gospel characters with authentic emotion and compassion.

So if you don’t know what to watch next and you want a show that is funny, exciting, emotional, and fuels your relationship with Christ, The Chosen is the show to watch. 

Watch The Chosen’s official trailer here. 

Theresa Marcucci ‘23, News Editor 

23tmarcucci@montroseschool.org