EDMONTON – Canadian pay TV network Super Channel announced Monday it will premiere The Chosen, a multi-season historical drama based on the life of Jesus, on its Heart and Home channel on Sunday, Aug. 27 at 10 p.m. ET.
Beginning Sept. 1, the series will move to a regular Friday time slot, with two episodes airing back-to-back at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET. All three seasons of the series will air on Super Channel Heart & Home, with all episodes available to stream on Super Channel On Demand as of Aug. 27.
The series, described in a press release as “a fan-supported, groundbreaking historical drama based on the life of Jesus, as seen through the eyes of his followers,” is created, directed and co-written by filmmaker Dallas Jenkins (The Resurrection of Gavin Stone).
“Set against the backdrop of Jewish oppression in first-century Israel, the series shares an authentic and intimate look at Jesus’ revolutionary life and teachings,” the synopsis reads.
The Chosen is an Angel Studios Original produced by Loaves & Fishes Productions. Series creator Jenkins, in partnership with Angel Studios, initially turned to crowdfunding to support production of the series, which is currently in post-production on its fourth season.
Lionsgate has worldwide distribution rights to all seasons of The Chosen, after their initial release on the Angel Studios and The Chosen apps. The series airs on The CW in the U.S. on Sunday nights, and is also available on Amazon Prime, Netflix and Peacock. The Chosen has garnered more than 520 million episode views worldwide, and more than 110 million people have watched at least one episode, according to the press release.
The series stars Jonathan Roumie as Jesus, Shahar Isaac as Simon Peter, Elizabeth Tabish as Mary Magdalene, Noah James as Andrew and Paras Patel as Matthew.
“Given the incredible success of The Chosen, and the way it has resonated with viewers around the world, we felt our subscribers would welcome the chance to view this captivating series on our service,” Jackie Pardy, chief content officer at Super Channel, said in the release.
“We know that the faith-based audience has traditionally been underserved for content of this quality and we felt this would be a great opportunity to test the response to a historical drama series of this nature on Heart & Home. We feel the series will appeal to viewers of all backgrounds and beliefs given its unique storytelling, high production values and fresh perspective,” Pardy added.
“On the heels of The Chosen’s successful U.S. broadcast debut, we are excited to continue expanding this landmark show’s global fanbase by bringing it to Canadian audiences,” said Jim Packer, Lionsgate’s president of worldwide television distribution.
Image supplied by Super Channel.
