‘The Chosen’ Co-Writer Responds to Critics – and Explains What They ‘Don't Mess’ With

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A writer for The Chosen is responding to critics who are uncomfortable with the series’ addition of scenes not found in Scripture, saying he understands their concerns but insists the show is simply exploring plausible scenarios while remaining faithful to the biblical narrative.

Co-writer Ryan Swanson made the comments at this year’s K-LOVE Fan Awards while answering a question from Crosswalk Headlines about how he answers viewers who are uncomfortable with the series’ addition of dialogue and scenes.

“There are other Bible projects for people who want to just stick to the red letters of the Bible,” Swanson said.

But director Dallas Jenkins and the other writers of The Chosen, he said, have chosen to explore plausible scenarios in order to flesh out the people and relationships surrounding Jesus.

“This is how, in keeping with the spirit of the moments that we know about, the moments that were written about in the Gospels – what might have happened to those characters that knew Jesus, that encountered Jesus? And that's always been our lens on the story.

“We don't mess with a single word of what Jesus did – but when we add a moment, we're plausibly trying to fill in the action that may have strung those moments emotionally together for the characters who are there.

“And we respect that point of view [from critics] and encourage them to find a show” that better aligns with their preferences. (The Lumo Project, for example, produced four feature-length films covering the life of Jesus through the unabridged text of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.)

The Chosen has become the most popular Bible project of the modern entertainment era, in part because of its unorthodox exploration of the characters around Christ – and how they were impacted by Him.

“It’s been one of the most rewarding things to be involved with The Chosen – is to hear back from people who are impacted by the show,” Swanson said.

Swanson is also the creator of an animated series, The Chosen Adventures, on Prime Video that follows two first-century children, Abby and Joshua, as they encounter Jesus and witness the events of the Gospel era.

“It's really fun to hear, occasionally, a story where the kids started watching The Chosen Adventures, and the parents found The Chosen,” he said.

Meanwhile, Swanson and The Chosen team are gradually wrapping up the series, bringing to an end a television project that launched in 2019 as a relatively unknown crowdfunded series searching for viewers. Season 7, which focuses on the resurrection, is filming this summer. Season 6, which centers on the crucifixion, will launch in November.

Swanson said the final seasons have required a different approach to writing the script.

“Certainly the material gets heavier, but also the Gospels get more narrative,” he said of the challenges of writing for the final two seasons. “They start telling us, almost hour by hour in Holy Week, what happened with Jesus and what trials He was going through, and where He went next, and what His next sermon was. So that was a change from Seasons 1 through 5, where we were very much sort of putting together tentpole moments and stringing those together with the emotional journeys of our characters.

“There was more of a burden to write these stories in the way they appear in the Gospel, and we tried to, as we've tried throughout the entire series, to just follow that as our north star through everything. … The Bible certainly gets more narrative as we move on.”

Photo Credit: ©5&2 Studios

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

Listen to Michael's Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.