With Season 4 of “The Chosen” just around the corner, the worldwide phenomenon continues to make a substantial impact locally in Midlothian and across the DFW area.
The first multi-season story of Christ’s journey is filmed at the Salvation Army Camp Hoblitzelle in Midlothian. “The Chosen” has a multi-year lease on the 900 acres.
“Midlothian is proud to be the host city for ‘The Chosen’, a hit television series. Over the past few years, the partnership between the Salvation Army’s Camp Hobletzele, The Chosen, and the city of Midlothian has blossomed into a fantastic relationship,” Midlothian Mayor Justin Coffman said. “Additionally, while hard to quantify, I believe the impact that ‘The Chosen’ has had on the local economy has been tremendous and will continue to grow.
“Generally speaking, the community is excited to have this high-quality faith-based film production right here in our backyard. I have seen the worldwide impact that ‘The Chosen’ is having, and it is a sense of pride to know that this is being filmed and produced right here in Midlothian, Texas.”
“The Chosen” spokesperson Morgann Seymour of The 130 Agency in Dallas said the show’s impact has been multi-faceted. Not only has its presence created hundreds of jobs for people in the film/television profession over the past five years, but the impact on restaurants, hotels, stores, and businesses in the Midlothian, DFW area and Texas as a whole has been to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.
Before moving to Midlothian, the first two seasons of “The Chosen” were made at Capernaum Studios in Poolville in Parker County, west of Fort Worth.
“Outside of the economic impact, we have also made a social and religious impact. Our cast, crew, and fans take a huge sense of pride in this show, and that has bled into our Texas community,” Seymour said. “We are a Texas show being made by Texans. Not only was the show brought to Texas partly due to Out of Order Studios being based here, but many people have moved to Texas and made it their home, including the show’s creator, Dallas Jenkins.
“Obviously, the Christian community loves this show, but many folks of other faiths or no faith at all love having this show here. There are numerous examples of folks in the industry and not that have pointed out how different ‘The Chosen’ is in how the leadership treats its cast, crew, and anyone that interacts with it.”
Seymour said Midlothian, Ellis County, and Camp Hoblitzelle have been nothing short of champions for the series and those connected to it. She noted that without Camp Holitzelle being available, the show might not have continued, and the camp might have shut down if the show hadn’t moved.
“They have embraced us and gone above and beyond every step of the way. Camp Hoblitzelle, and specifically Casey Bilbrey, the camp director, are amazing,” she said. “It was a match made in heaven.”
The Chosen SEASON 4 COMING IN FEBRUARY
For the first time, an entire “The Chosen” season will be available in theaters. Distributed by Fathom Events, the rolling out of Season 4 in theaters will begin with a two-week run of Episodes 1-3 on Feb. 1, followed by Episodes 4-6 starting Feb. 15, and Episodes 7-8 beginning Feb. 29.
Last season, fans had the opportunity to see the premiere and finale episodes of “The Chosen” in theaters.
“Every time we’ve dipped our toes in the theatrical waters, viewers have overwhelmingly told us they want more. After seeing the Season 4 episodes, we knew we’d be doing our fans a disservice if we denied them the chance to see them all on a big screen with others they can laugh and cry with,” said Dallas Jenkins, creator and director of “The Chosen.”
The Chosen has become a cultural phenomenon with impressive performance across streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime, Peacock, and Netflix, and top ratings weekly domestically on The CW.
For those who prefer to watch the series in other ways, it will be available on the Angel Studios Network on TV and “The Chosen” app.
Before the debut of Season 4, “Christmas With The Chosen: Holy Night” will come to theaters for a limited engagement on Dec. 12-17. The film weaves the messengers and the shepherd into one new remastered and re-scored story. Plus, a never-before-seen performance from Andrea and Matteo Bocelli will be highlighted by seven music performances and two new monologues.
Tickets for “Christmas With The Chosen: Holy Night” go on sale Nov. 20.
