Utah feels like home, ‘The Chosen’ creator Dallas Jenkins says as the show films Season 5

Season 5 of “The Chosen” will be intense.

That’s according to Dallas Jenkins, who spoke to the Deseret News on the phone Tuesday night about what it’s been like to film in Utah. “I would say Season 4 is our most emotional season by far. Season 5 is more, and that’s definitely come out in filming. I mean, we’re covering the most famous and impactful week in the history of the world — Holy Week.”

It’s expected that Season 5 of “The Chosen” will come out sometime in 2025. “The Chosen” Season 4 had its theatrical run earlier this year and will be released on streaming sometime in the near future.

Jenkins said the set in Utah feels like one of their homes and that the people are great. “I think the mountains in the distance is always beautiful. It never gets old,” Jenkins said, adding that when you’re on the Goshen set, you look around and only see the set. “It does feel like one of our homes.”

“It really is a beautiful gift that the LDS Church has given us and hopefully a gift that we’re giving to the world,” Jenkins said. The Goshen set “The Chosen” uses is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the show is the first production not affiliated with the church that is allowed to film on the Jerusalem set.

As the cast and crew continue to film, they are only becoming more efficient as time stretches on, Jenkins said.

“We’re speaking the same language. We speak a lot of shorthand,” he said. “The actors are so in tune with their characters that writing is easier, that giving them direction is easier.” Jenkins also said he’s becoming a better filmmaker and is more aware of the show’s strengths and weaknesses.

“That allows us to really focus on what’s most important for each scene,” Jenkins said. As an example, he referred to how they’ve had 600 fans be extras. “That’s become easier because we just get used to more variables so each season, we try to challenge ourselves a little bit more.”

He called it “one of the most incredible incredible moments in my career.”

While Jenkins couldn’t spoil what the scene was, he said multiple actors thought there was nothing like the experience. “You’ve got 600 people who truly want to be here and truly want people tobe part of something special.”

Sometimes the fans who come to be extras on the show are celebrating a milestone in their life. Jenkins said he took a photograph on Monday with a couple who was celebrating their 47th anniversary. Another couple came to Utah as part of their honeymoon. “For them, it’s an honor, and that’s really humbling.”

“The Chosen” shared with the Deseret News that “the first 17 days of filming in Utah included 600 background extras per day from all over the world, with the closest being locals from Utah and the furthest from as far as Botswana.”

But as the show goes on, Jenkins said his purpose and the work has remained the same.

“Whether a hundred people are watching or a million people watching or a hundred million people are watching or whether we have a low budget or a bigger budget, ultimately, we’re just trying to tell the truth about what happened 2,000 years ago and introduce people to an authentic Jesus.”

“I always want to try to maintain a posture of surrender,” Jenkins said, explaining he can’t think about how many people may be watching the show or who might criticize the show. “We’re doing the same thing that we did when we were in Season 1. The money is a little bit different. The set is a little bit different. The number of viewers is obviously significant different. But if we ever start thinking about that, or if we ever start caring about that, it will ruin the work.”

For Jenkins, it’s still about five and two — the five loaves and two fishes he can bring to the table. “I’m not going to be falsely modest about that. I made good loaves and good fish. But the multiplication side, that’s up to God. I’m just here to keep serving.”

Jenkins takes filming day by day. He has a routine down. “I pray, of course. I go on a quick 10-minute jog to get my blood flowing, get some prayer time and get some prep work done.” He said he tries to stay physically, emotionally and spiritually healthy. “I always express some gratitude for the opportunity that I have to do this. And then I pray for wisdom and clarity that I can be a good leader and that I can be open to what God has for me that day.”

Though it might be a routine, Jenkins said every day is still challenging. “This job never gets easy. The show never gets easy.”

Utah weather is unpredictable, Jenkins said. “We can never predict the sun, we can never predict the wind. I think Utah weather is almost kind of a prank. I think the radar is kind of teasing you.”

Before the cast and crew started filming Season 5, Jenkins and a couple writers already had their eyes toward the future of the show. “We went to Sundance, spent a couple of days there and just plotted out the outlines and started to work on some of the scripts for Seasons 6 and 7 because we really want to make sure that we know where we’re going with everything.”

During that writing time, Jenkins said God blessed it. “It always feels like we come away with more than we expected.”