Inside the Season 7 set of ‘The Chosen’ in Texas

Shortly after production wrapped on the second season of “The Chosen,” production designer James Cunningham received a call: “We’re building a city.”

The ambitious proposal was a challenge for Cunningham, who was practiced in building temporary sets. But “The Chosen” had seen rapid growth, and the production needed to match the swelling scale of the show.

Returning to their previous Capernaum set in Weatherford, Texas — where much of the first and second seasons were filmed — wasn’t feasible. It was too small.

“The Chosen” had begun filming nearly half its scenes at the Jerusalem replica in Goshen, Utah, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Now, a large-scale Capernaum replica was needed.

Construction began immediately. 5&2 Studios, the production company behind the series, signed a multiyear lease to build on The Salvation Army’s Camp Hoblitzelle, which has served as a summer camp for kids and a year-round retreat center for more than six decades.

Space wouldn’t be an issue on the 1,200-acre property in Midlothian, Texas. Cunningham hired an architect, engineer and construction workers to begin creating the Capernaum replica, which is constructed entirely from real brick, stone and roofing.

“I think the hardest thing about building this (set) was trying to convince people who do this for a living to do a bad job, because we were like, ‘Make the rocks a little more crooked,’” Cunningham recalled. “That was our biggest challenge — having real construction people make it look bad.”

Today, the set includes a 30,000-square-foot soundstage, a Capernaum synagogue and market, Jewish homes, a thermopolium and homes for several of the Twelve Apostles.

Design for the Season 7 set began in January. Cunningham and his team spent four months dressing the Texas set before filming began in April. Every detail was captured, down to the fruit resting in brass bowls and fish hanging on lines off a wooden marketplace cart.

“I am constantly doing research. I do a lot,” Cunningham said. “I study any scene. We do a lot of archaeological studying. We try to make it as close to the first century as possible.”

Filming for the seventh season of “The Chosen” started in Midlothian in April. Then, after a three-week stint in Goshen, cast and crew returned to Texas to complete filming, which runs through September, totaling 90 days on set between Utah and Texas.

Now, the set is slowly being undressed. Power drills, ladders and stacks of containers are scattered about the Capernaum replica, once home to over 500 days of filming. As “The Chosen” nears its final days of filming, the Deseret News toured the Midlothian set.

Take a look at some behind-the-scenes images on set with “The Chosen” in Midlothian, Texas, captured by Deseret News photojournalist Lukas Katilius.