Jesus’ life becomes a primetime series

Having dumped its superheroes, the CW network is now going with the ultimate hero.
Gone are Superman, Batman, Stargirl, Arrow, The Flash and more. Arriving is Jesus.
On July 16, the mini-network will air “The Chosen” (shown here) on Sundays. The show, first funded by crowdsourcing, already has 25 episodes (from three seasons) CW plans to air the last of those on Christmas Eve.
Meanwhile, “The Chosen has started work on its fourth season. It plans to have seven in all, following Jesus’ life by focusing on the people – good and bad – around him.
The series has already shown up on YouTube, Facebook and several networks.
The first was BYUtv, as part of a deal to let the show be filmed on the biblical-era sets created by the Mormon church. “Chosen” added Amazon Prime, Netflix, Peacock and Trinity and has been a regular part of UpTV’s Eastertime line-up.
That fits a strategy that starts this summer. Instead of paying top-dollar for totally new, scripted shows, CW is leaning toward ones that have aired elsewhere.
The last vestiges of the old network’s scripted shows are two that will end on June 27 (“Superman & Lois” and “Gotham Knights”), two that end on Aug. 30 (“Nancy Drew” and “Riverwalk”) and only two that continue next season (“All American” and “Walker”). Replacing them this fall are:
— A cable drama. AMC ordered two seasons of “61st Street,” but only showed one; CW will air both.
— A streaming reality show. “FBoy Island” was on HBO Max. CW will rerun it this summer, then have a new season in the fall … followed by the new “FGirl Island.”
— Several Canadian and British comedies.
— A night of Canadian dramas – the detective show “Spencer Sisters” and the small-town drama “Sullivan’s Crossing.” CW has agreed to co-produce the second season of the latter.
— And now “The Chosen.”
The show originally planned to get its money via a subscription services and DVD sales. During the pandemic, however, it started to make episodes available for free, asking viewers to donate.
It has also made a reported $35 million in theater screenings. And now CW – once a place for monsters via “Supernatural,” “The Winchesters” and more – is giving it another home.