The Chosen Soars in Popularity on Netflix as one of the 'Most Liked' Titles
- Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Updated Nov 29, 2022
The Bible-based television series The Chosen launched on Netflix last week and quickly became one of its most popular titles, garnering a tag as one of the platform's "Most Liked" shows.
The series is widely available for free on multiple platforms – including on The Chosen app, Peacock and Amazon Prime Video – but had never appeared on Netflix until now. Netflix is the world's most popular paid streaming service, with more than 220 million paying subscribers.
The series, in its third season, is the "first multi-season television series" about Jesus and His followers, according to its creators.
The eight episodes of the first season are on Netflix. The series received a rare "Most Liked" badge, which indicates when a show is "one of the most thumbed up by Netflix subscribers who had watched it," according to Tech Crunch.
"We want to introduce the world to the authentic Jesus," Katherine Warnock, head of original content for The Chosen, told Christian Headlines. "Netflix is an amazing partner in that they can instantaneously get it out to 194 markets [countries], whereas if we were doing it slowly, bit by bit, it would take us far longer."
The series' appearance on Netflix, Warnock added, is a "gateway" to reach those "that we haven't reached yet."
"It's for those that maybe want nothing to do with Christianity, but they're like, 'This sounds fascinating,'" she said. "... [It's] pushing outside of the echo chamber even further."
Meanwhile, the theatrical movie The Chosen: Season 3 (episodes 1 and 2) remained in the box office Top 10 over the weekend with an estimated gross of $1.5 million, placing it at No. 10. It opened at No. 3 the previous weekend with a gross of $8.7 million.
The New York Times featured the series in a post-Thanksgiving article, saying it has pulled off a "crowd-funded miracle: a hit with a Christian fan base that is breaking into the mainstream."
Related:
Atheists Are Watching 'The Chosen,' Dallas Jenkins Says: 'It Could Plant a Seed'
The Chosen Stuns Hollywood by Opening at No. 3: 'We're Shocking the Industry'
Photo courtesy: ©Angel Studios/The Chosen
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
