"The Chosen," hailed as one of the greatest productions ever created for the depiction of Christ's life, ministry, and chosen disciples, has already amassed more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube. Creator-Director Dallas Jenkins was excited to celebrate the milestone with all the fans and supporters of the show.
"This is more about you than it is about me," Jenkins said on a short video on The Chosen's YouTube channel. "You clicking the like button, you clicking the subscribe button, you clicking the notification bell on YouTube, commenting, sharing all of that stuff, caused our channel to get out in front of more people."
Jenkins complimented all of the fans' influence, noting that it extended beyond the boundaries of a single city or even a single nation. He claims that they've had visits from individuals in virtually every nation on the planet who have visited their YouTube channel as a result of their combined efforts. As of now, the YouTube channel has 1.22 million subscribers.
"This is bigger than the original one," he said of the plaque he's holding." Remember when we got a hundred thousand subscribers last year and I got a little plaque for that? It was a silver plaque but here's the thing, I remember when we had zero subscribers. I remember when Daryl and I were asking our friends to like it and to subscribe to it so that we could start building up our channel. I remember when we hit 100. I remember when we hit a thousand, and that is a representation of how this show is growing and it's been truly extraordinary and heartwarming."
Jenkins clarified that the funds raised through thechosengifts.com, which is where fans can buy shirts and merchandise in support of the series, go toward the production of the series and the wages of the staff working to produce the show. The cast and crew have chosen to "peel back the curtain" so that viewers can witness all that is going on during the whole production and shooting process, he said.
"We want you to trust us. We want you to feel like you're part of it. You're part of the family. Part of The Chosen army and that's why this means so much to me because it's a representation of that," he added.
A crowd-funded media project
According to the statistics provided on the "The Chosen" website, Season 1 was completely funded in November 2019 by a staggering 75,346 individuals who together contributed a total of $10,000,000, making The Chosen the biggest crowdfunded media production in the United States to date.
In November 2020, SEASON 2 was likewise fully funded. There was a total of 125,346 contributors, for a sum of $10,000,000. Season 2 was financed by 86 percent of the individuals who also contributed to Season 1 giving an average donation of $299.99.
Season 3, the next major milestone, is now 38 percent funded, with the remaining funds needed to reach the $100 million target, which they aim to complete by early 2022.
Seasons 1 and 2 have reportedly had over 160 million views.
