Amazon Prime Video is helping introduce Jesus to audiences around the world by distributing “The Chosen” on a global level.
In February, “The Chosen” creator Dallas Jenkins announced his 5&2 Studios had struck a wide-ranging deal with Amazon MGM Studios, providing Amazon with exclusive streaming rights for “The Chosen” as well as future projects.
The deal, Jenkins said during a livestream, brings “legitimacy to the show” and “helps people spread the word about it.”
For the Come and See Foundation, a nonprofit organization which helps fund and translate the series, the partnership with Amazon helps execute the foundation’s primary mission: “Everyone experience Jesus.”
“We value this distribution because it creates awareness for the show,” said Stan Jantz, the global ambassador of the Come and See Foundation. “It gets people interested in — first of all — watching Jesus."
As the Come and See Foundation’s global ambassador, Jantz is responsible for helping people around the globe “participate in this extraordinary show.”
According to Jantz, “with Amazon Prime now featuring (’The Chosen’), it gives people a chance to watch who haven’t seen it ... and watch it as many times as they want to.”
“The Chosen” has already been far-reaching. More than 280 million viewers in 175 countries have seen the series, but the Come and See Foundation aims to introduce “The Chosen” to 1 billion people worldwide.
Amazon is helping make that dream a reality.
In June, the fifth season of “The Chosen” debuted on Prime Video. The season is being released over a three-week period. Just over a week into that phased release, “The Chosen” has climbed to No. 1 on the streaming platform, per Crosswalk.
Backing from Amazon MGM Studios “allows us to put gasoline on the fire, spreading the show to the world,” Jenkins previously told the Deseret News.
Amazon’s role in keeping ‘The Chosen’ free
In addition to sharing “The Chosen” on a global level, the Come and See Foundation and Dallas Jenkins share another goal: The series must remain available for free.
Keeping the series accessible for free is essential to reaching viewers across the globe — particularly those who do not have access to Prime Video or cannot afford a streaming subscription.
Since the launch of “The Chosen,” the series has been available for free through “The Chosen” app and website. The only requirement for access to episodes is creating a free membership.
“This is really important, especially for those places in the world where maybe Amazon is not available,” Jantz said. “People can watch it for free ... (in) places that maybe don’t even have access to some kind of broadcast platform, but they can watch it in the app. And that’s something that’s really, really important.”
He added, “Anybody who has access to iOS or Android app stores can download (‘The Chosen’ app) for free. They can get seasons 1 through 4 now. And then, by September, they’ll be able to get Season 5.”
Amazon was “so cooperative” in making it possible for “The Chosen” to remain available for free, Jenkins said during a February livestream. The streamer agreed to a 90-day window of exclusivity, which Jenkins noted “is actually a short window of exclusivity.”
That means 90 days after “The Chosen” Season 5 premieres on Prime Video, it will be released for free on the app.
But even with cooperation and support from Amazon, keeping the series available to audiences for free “required some sacrifices,” Jenkins said during a June livestream.
Much of the funding that makes it possible for “The Chosen” to remain free is crowdfunded, a process facilitated by The Come and See Foundation.
Support for the mission of The Come and See Foundation comes from fans of the series, who sacrifice donations to keep the series available to everyone. No donation is “too small,” Jantz said.
“Because we have made (‘The Chosen’) free, people around the world in literally every country in the world have been able to enjoy this show and be impacted by this show,” Jenkins said during the June livestream.
Other upcoming projects from 5&2 Studios, such as “The Chosen Adventures” and “The Chosen In The Wild with Bear Grylls,” might be available exclusively on Prime Video for longer than 90 days.
“I can’t promise everything,” Jenkins said during the February livestream, “but our desire to get this content to as many people as possible all over the world is shared by Prime Video, and of course, Come and See.”
How ‘The Chosen’ has personally impacted Jantz
Jantz has spent his career studying Jesus Christ. He earned a master’s degree in Christian apologetics and has authored more than 75 faith-based books. Still, “The Chosen” has impacted Jantz’s understanding of Jesus.
Since watching “The Chosen,” Jantz said he is “relating more to Jesus as a person (rather) than just a doctrine or an idea.”
He continued, “It’s one thing to know about Jesus — and I know a lot about Jesus ... but what (’The Chosen’) has done is brought me to connect more with the person of Jesus, and to know he can be my friend. And he is my friend."
Jantz said the series, which he called a “great TV show,” is “explaining and showing what it means to actually follow Jesus.”
“I’m just honored to be a part of it,” Jantz said. “It has strengthened my own faith ... it’s helping me understand and relate to and to experience the real Jesus that is so authentically portrayed in ‘The Chosen.’”