Chris Lange, FISM News
[elfsight_social_share_buttons id=”1″]
“The Chosen,” the highly-popular streaming television series about the lives of Jesus and his disciples, is on course to exponentially expand its global reach, thanks to a partnership with a newly-formed nonprofit that is working to translate the series into 600 languages.
“This new partnership with Come and See supercharges our efforts,” said Dallas Jenkins, creator and director of “The Chosen.”
“We’re able to produce episodes bigger and faster, get them translated into more languages, and market the show on a scale previously impossible.”
Come and See Foundation plans to dub the series in 100 different languages and subtitle it into 500 more.
The Come and See Foundation, which describes itself as a “growth and outreach resource for “The Chosen,” has set an impressive goal of reaching 1 billion people across the globe with the series.
“’The Chosen’ is such a dynamic and powerful story,” Stan Jantz, CEO of the Come and See Foundation, said in a press release announcing the new partnership. “With the formation of the Come and See Foundation, our plan is to take ‘The Chosen’ around the world, reaching much of the World’s population, so they are able to experience Jesus in their native tongue” Jantz continued.
The Come and See Foundation was spearheaded by Matt Green, the Ministry Investment Officer for Hobby Lobby, who also sits on its board.
Green said that he “literally wept and wept” after watching “The Chosen” for the first time in a video explaining the foundation’s mission. “… And I said, ‘Wow, what if we could come alongside ‘The Chosen’ and get them into more languages?”
Green said that about 95% percent of the world speaks the 600 languages targeted for translations.
The Come and See Foundation website refers to “The Chosen” as “a gospel movement.”
“The Chosen” series presents “an authentic and intimate picture of Jesus’ life and ministry, seen through the eyes of the people who knew him,” according to the release. It has racked up over 420 million episode views worldwide and represents “the largest fan-supported entertainment project of all time.”
The first two episodes of the show’s highly-anticipated third season were released in 2,400 theaters throughout the U.S. Nov. 18-20, where it ranked No. 3 at the box office and brought in a gross of $8.7 million.
The Come and See Foundation has made the entire series available for free on a new app which offers additional content like “Bible Roundtables” and a Season 3 aftershow. Users can also make donations through the app, which the nonprofit said will be used to continue “production, keep the show free around the world” and translate it “into hundreds of languages.”
Season 1 has already been dubbed in 12 languages and subtitled in 62 languages, while Season 2 has been dubbed in seven languages, with 20 language subtitles.
“With your help,” the website says, “we can bring the story of Jesus to the ends of the Earth.”