Dallas Jenkins Always Asks Himself This One Question …
By Movieguide® Contributor
THE CHOSEN creator Dallas Jenkins says there’s one question he asks himself before writing episodes of the show.
“The Bible is our primary source of truth and inspiration, but obviously, when you’re doing eight episodes per season and the Bible [and] the gospels weren’t written in TV show format…honestly, the bulk of our inspiration comes from our own lives,” he explained on an episode of TAKEAWAYS WITH KIRK CAMERON.
Jenkins stressed that capturing that “human” quality in episodes of the show is very important to him and the rest of the show’s writers, explaining, “One of the number one things people say after watching THE CHOSEN is it feels human, it feels real, it feels like I could place myself, like I could see Jesus through their eyes.”
“One of the things I think we’re really trying to do is connect the fact that the people 2,000 years ago had the same questions, struggles, [and] doubts. They dealt with oppression, they dealt with sociopolitical divides,” he said. “And when you realize that, it makes it even more powerful.”
Of course, there are some instances where Jenkins takes some creative liberties, but he explained that, before the writers do so, they ask themselves one question.
“A very important question that we ask ourselves every time we write anything…our operating question is ‘Is this plausible?’ We know that not all of it is factual, but is this plausible?” he shared.
Jenkins continued, “We don’t idolize the show. The show is not a replacement for scripture. Never will be, never should be. However, we do think, if it’s plausible…we believe that we can do a first-century drama that uses the Bible as its primary source of truth and inspiration and hopefully ultimately draws people closer to scripture.”
Jenkins is currently preparing for the premiere of Season 5 of THE CHOSEN, which will cover pivotal moments in Jesus’ life, from the Last Supper, to Judas’ betrayal and Jesus’ arrest.
“Even though we’re coming to the moments that obviously change the entire world, I had an obligation in season one to get this right,” Jenkins told The Christian Post. “[We need] to honor the character and intentions of Jesus and the Gospels to make sure that we are making a good show that people actually want to watch.”
In an interview with Deseret News, Jenkins elaborated on what viewers can expect from the upcoming episodes.
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“In this season, you’re going to see these big, epic moments that we all know and we’ve all heard about — but especially you’re going to get to see the intimacy and the authenticity and the relationships,” Jenkins said.
He continued, “It’s easy for us to forget that Jesus was with his closest friends the week that he was going to die. What does that mean for him? What does that look like for him? What does it mean for them when they clearly aren’t understanding what’s going to happen, but they’re still following, even though they don’t understand?
“The moments that you’ve heard about from scripture are there. They’re significant. We do them in a really cool way, but ultimately you’re going to be in the story. And you can see this from a human perspective,” Jenkins concluded.
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