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Watch: North Texas has become home for Christian TV phenomenon ‘The Chosen’

The show’s creator, Dallas Jenkins, announced the launch of a new production studio that will produce the show, in addition to other projects, and be based in Midlothian.

The art department coordinator is excited for what's to come this summer at the hit Christian TV series filming in Midlothian, Texas.

MIDLOTHIAN — Actors dressed in first-century togas and headdresses take their places as film crew members yell, “Quiet, please!” A warning bell rings out inside the white-domed sound stage, and the air conditioning shuts off as filming begins.

We’re at the studios of The Chosen in Midlothian, 50 minutes outside Dallas. As the scene unfolds, it’s easy to ignore the cranes overhead and the wires covering the floor and imagine you’re back in biblical times.

Why This Story Matters
The popular Christian TV series “The Chosen” is one of the biggest crowdfunded media projects ever produced and happens to be filmed here in North Texas. Soon, the fifth of its seven planned seasons is set to be released and there’s news that producers plan to strengthen their ties to our region, particularly in Midlothian.

Then Dallas Jenkins, the show’s creator, claps his hands and calls out for more movement from the actors. The illusion lifts.

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Driving past Camp Hoblitzelle, a Salvation Army facility used for retreats and conferences, you might not notice the 80,000 square feet of sound stages and outdoor sets that The Chosen has built to recreate the life of Jesus.

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The Dallas Morning News recently got a look inside the set of The Chosen, touring the sound stages and roughly two-acre outdoor biblical village. Finished in 2022, the production facilities cost millions of dollars and were built in about nine months, according to B.J. Forman, the art department coordinator who led the tour.

The Chosen has become a national phenomenon, growing from a low-budget pilot shot by a church volunteer to a 7-season production that has crowdfunded tens of millions of dollars and garnered over 600 million episode views.

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Terry Lindvall, a professor at Virginia Wesleyan University who has authored multiple books on religion and media topics, is teaching a class on The Chosen next year. He said The Chosen stands out for its focus on the “disciples next door” and the way it fleshes out and humanizes the side characters in the story of Jesus.

Heidi Campbell, who teaches classes on religion and digital culture at Texas A&M, said one of the things that makes The Chosen unique is its “participatory culture.”

She highlighted the show’s use of social media to drive conversation and engagement and its decision to host a fan convention called ChosenCon. For its first year, the convention was held in Dallas last October. This October, it was held in Orlando.

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Jenkins recently strengthened The Chosen’s ties to North Texas by announcing he is launching a production company, 5&2 Studios, that will be based in Midlothian. The company will produce The Chosen in addition to other projects set in the biblical world, according to a September news release.

The streaming series grew out of a short Christmas film that Jenkins made for his church and went on to become one of the biggest crowdfunded media projects ever produced. The fifth of its seven planned seasons is set to be released next year.

As of 2021, fans had donated more than $40 million to the show’s production budget, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Chosen has garnered over 600 million episode views, according to press materials, and was called a “hit with a Christian fan base that is breaking into the mainstream” by The New York Times.

In addition to its Midlothian filming home, the show also has several other North Texas connections. Jenkins moved to Midlothian to be near the set. Fort Worth’s Jordan Walker Ross, who plays Little James in the show, is the grandson of Texas actor Barry Corbin.

The show’s fourth season was released in theaters in February and on streaming services in June. The News toured the Midlothian sets of The Chosen to learn more about the show’s new filming home.

Synagogue

Our tour starts with a look inside the air-conditioned first-century synagogue that leads into the show’s outdoor biblical village. Most of the building is made with styrofoam, says Forman.

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Styrofoam walls and columns, often adorned with a thin outer layer of stucco or mud, have been built around doors, windows, mosaics and other art pieces the show purchased for their first-century or ancient look.

Art Department Coordinator BJ Forman details aspects of the sets during a tour of The Chosen...
Art Department Coordinator BJ Forman details aspects of the sets during a tour of The Chosen set, which includes a 2 acre biblical village and 30,000 square foot soundstage, June 26, 2024 The hit Christian TV series "The Chosen" is filming their 5th of 7 seasons in Midlothian, Texas.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

Biblical village

Near a lake on the property’s grounds, The Chosen team built an outdoor set on two acres meant to resemble the fishing village of Capernaum in the Bible, where the early parts of Jesus’ ministry with his disciples begins.

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The show’s re-creation of that village is complete with dozens of houses, a main road and a dock built overlooking the water.

For this season, Forman explains that the village has been made to look like the city of Jerusalem. Stables have been turned into city shops with fruit and glassware in the windows, and houses have been redecorated with porches and wine presses.

The backlot has an outdoor village depicting Jerusalem. It was previously used to represent...
The backlot has an outdoor village depicting Jerusalem. It was previously used to represent the fishing village of Capernaum on the extensive Midlothian, Texas set of The Chosen, June 26, 2024. Most buildings also have finished out rooms for filming inside. There are 47 different locations to fit from, including on the second floor. In addition, the Art Department began designing/building Season 5 sets 6 months before Production began with a team of 93 people including carpenters, scenic artists, painters, and plasterers. The hit Christian TV series "The Chosen" is filming their 5th of 7 seasons. (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

Claudia’s quarters

One of the sound stage sets we get to see on our tour is the bedroom of Claudia, the wife of Roman governor Pontius Pilate.

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Her room is decorated with oil lamps, small statues and vintage furniture, some of which the show purchased from Facebook marketplace sellers nearby.

This isn’t the only sound stage lit by candlelight during filming. Just yesterday, Forman tells us the show had 50 candles burning at once, and its “candle budget” for this year alone was $7,000.

Elaborate decor fills Claudia’s quarters during a closed Midlothian, Texas set of The...
Elaborate decor fills Claudia’s quarters during a closed Midlothian, Texas set of The Chosen, which includes a 2 acre biblical village and 30,000 square foot soundstage, June 26, 2024. Claudia is Pontius Pilate’s wife. The hit Christian TV series "The Chosen" is filming their 5th of 7 seasons. (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

Local impact

The Midlothian facility has not only given the show a central home base, but also drawn people from around the world.

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Shortly after the set was built, the show invited fans out to Midlothian to serve as extras for crowd-heavy scenes retelling Bible stories like the Sermon on the Mount and the Feeding of the 5,000. The show reached out to local restaurants and hotels to warn them about the influx of thousands of fans descending on the area, Forman said.

Justin Coffman, the mayor of Midlothian, said he’s toured The Chosen’s sets multiple times and seen the show have a “fairly large” economic impact on the city.

“Whenever they’re doing large shoots where they need lots of people, we’ve seen our hotels fill up, our restaurants fill up,” he said in an interview. “We’re very proud to know that their impact, worldwide even, is based right here out of Midlothian.”

When the show is not filming, local young people have also had the opportunity to use The Chosen’s sets as part of the local Salvation Army’s annual Camp Hoblitzelle Fine Arts summer program.

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Last year, a group of around 200 campers, ages 13 to 25, created short films and performed on The Chosen’s set. Forman hopes the set will continue to be a resource for the community even after filming on The Chosen wraps up.

“You could teach an immersive Sunday school on the grounds, you could have Bible study, you could rent it out as a location for other faith-based productions,” he said.

Earlier this year, Jenkins told The News the show chose to build its new filming home in Midlothian because of the show’s partnership with the Salvation Army, which leases the land the sets are built on to The Chosen, and because the topography of the area “looks like Israel in many ways.”

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Jenkins also shared that he and his family recently moved to Midlothian to be close to the set.

“Of course, Texans believe Jesus lived there anyway,” Jenkins joked. “It’s a good place to shoot a show about Jesus.”

Adrian Ashford covers faith and religion in North Texas for The Dallas Morning News through a partnership with Report for America.

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