Hulu begins streaming all three seasons of “The Chosen,” a religious series with an interesting history. The first multi-season series to depict the life of Jesus, “The Chosen” did not emerge from the usual channels. Filmmaker Dallas Jenkins, who had worked mainly in religious broadcasting, began making the series in Texas and used crowdfunding to finance production.
The cast, including voice actor Jonathan Roumie as Jesus and Shahar Isaac as Simon Peter, is relatively unknown outside of this project.
Season one mainly concerns the gathering of the 12 disciples; season two follows Jesus as he performs miracles and his reputation grows, and season three culminates in his showdown with both Roman authorities and the leading Pharisees.
Despite its unusual path to completion, “The Chosen” has been seen in movie theaters, streamed on its own app and had a brief run on the CW network last year. It’s estimated that more than 100 million people have been exposed to some or all of the series.
While religious films can be hugely popular, few escape controversy. Both the 1927 silent “The King of Kings,” directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and Mel Gibson’s 2004 epic “The Passion of the Christ,” created storms of controversy and fears that the films would excite anti-Semitism. A cynic might suspect that the dustup was baked in to both films’ marketing strategies.
Director Martin Scorsese’s 1988 adaptation of “The Last Temptation of Christ” was condemned as blasphemous. While attending the New York Film Festival screening of Jean-Luc Godard’s 1985 effort “Hail Mary,” I had to wade through angry crowds. That was more exciting than the film!
Sometimes the greatest storms to engulf devotional entertainment take place within and between religious communities. As a little kid, I can recall my devout Catholic grandmother cautioning us not to watch Nicholas Ray’s 1961 version of “King of Kings” starring Jeffrey Hunter because it was “too Protestant.” My sister thought Hunter was extremely cute and defied her admonition. Just what Grandma objected to was beyond my comprehension.
Produced, released and distributed largely outside of the radar of the entertainment establishment, “The Chosen” has not entirely escaped controversy. Parts of the series were shot in Utah, and it was broadcast on BYU-TV, enough for some Christians to suggest that the story had a Mormon slant. They sound like my grandmother! And they remind us why many in the entertainment business avoid religious subjects. No matter what you end up producing, you are bound to offend somebody.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A trip to Texas to find a Marine’s killer on “NCIS” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).
— “Antiques Roadshow” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-G, check local listings) appraises a 1966 Bob Dylan poster signed by its creator, graphic artist Milton Glaser.
— Competitors exchange recipes on “Spring Baking Competition” (8 p.m., Food, TV-G).
— “Ugliest House in America” (9 p.m., HGTV, TV-PG) focuses on three homes in the Southwest.
— A wedding planner receives sad news in the 2021 romance “The Vows We Keep” (9 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— Weapons of mass destruction on “NCIS: Hawai’i” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— After confessing to murder, a man’s innocence is championed by an unlikely source, the victim’s own mother, on the season finale of “The Interrogation Tapes: A Special Edition of 20/20” (10 p.m., ABC).
CULT CHOICE
An unemployed Depression-era singer (Julie Andrews) passes herself off as a male female impersonator in the 1982 musical comedy “Victor/Victoria” (10 p.m., TCM, TV-MA). Directed by Blake Edwards (“The Pink Panther”) with music by Henry Mancini, this film, co-starring James Garner, Robert Preston and Lesley Ann Warren, received near-universal acclaim, yet was a tad overshadowed by “Tootsie,” another gender-bending comedy from the same year that was nominated for 10 Academy Awards.
SERIES NOTES
There goes “The Neighborhood” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … The playoffs enter their second round on “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … Five competitors remain on “MasterChef” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … The judges suggest songs for the remaining eight singers on “American Idol” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … A Vegas wedding on “Bob Hearts Abishola” (8:30 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … The remaining six compete in movie-themed challenges on “So You Think You Can Dance” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … Five remaining players sabotage the competition on “Deal or No Deal Island” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Anne Hathaway, Melanie Lynskey and Lang Lang on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Jim Gaffigan, Charli XCX and Troye Sivan visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Taylor Tomlinson hosts Caroline Rhea, Matt Rogers and James Davis on “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS, r).
