‘The Chosen’s’ Sons Of Thunder On Jesus’ Fave, S4 & TX Chili

Happy to share with you a really fun chat I had with The Chosen stars Abe Bueno-Jallad and George Xanthis, who play, respectively, brothers and Apostles Big James and John, called the “Sons of Thunder.”

The full interview is embedded below.

But first, we have to go over what’s up with the show’s current season.

So, What Is Up With The Chosen Season 4?

It’s been a rough season four for The Chosen, in more ways than one. The big plot twist may be top of the list for folks who’ve paid to see the show in theaters. But, that twist remains a mystery for other folks patiently — or not — waiting for the show to finally start streaming.

In livestreams, series creator Dallas Jenkins has referenced “legal matters” preventing the show from hitting the small screen.

Newsweek recently did a deep dive on the issues between the company producing The Chosen and its original distributor, Angel Studios. Read the whole thing here, but here’s a bit:

The trail of legal documents and SEC filings tell a tale of behind-the scenes infighting that has gone on for at least three years, culminating with the delayed season amid legal arbitration that could take weeks, months or even years to settle.

…

But SEC documents indicate that Chosen Inc. has limited rights to freely stream The Chosen, stipulating that it can do so on The Chosen app only if the show also streams on the Angel app, which is owned by Angel Studios.

Chosen Inc., though, is able to release the entire Season 4 in theaters, but that means fans accustomed to seeing the show for free won’t be able to perhaps until arbitration concludes.

In a livestream on Facebook and Instagram on March 21, Jenkins indicated that he hoped the delay wouldn’t be “half a year or anything like that,” but he couldn’t be more specific.

Looking from the outside, it appears to me that the show’s cost and popularity have exceeded expectations when the Angel Studios deal was struck. Serious growing pains have resulted, causing The Chosen to apparently want to detach itself from Angel Studios, which Jenkins calls “our former partner.”

In showbiz, as in any kind of business, when contracts are involved, it’s never easy.

But, Jenkins also said that season five starts filming in about a month, so at least that is moving forward.

Watching Season Four on the Big Screen

The season-four episodes have already been released to theaters. Now, they’re being re-released in their entirety over three nights next week — Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday — at substantial discounts.

This could be dicey for Catholics and Orthodox trying to fit this in amid observing the Triduum. And, in glancing over the ticket link, there isn’t as great a variety of showtimes as in the initial run.

But, season four will be coming out on DVD, and per Jenkins, churches can license the episodes for public showings. Info can be found at TheChosenRiseUp.com.

Without Further Ado, the Sons of Thunder

In the meantime, I got to chat recently with Abe Bueno-Jallad and George Xanthis, who play, respectively, brothers and Apostles Big James and John, nicknamed the “Sons of Thunder.”

SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT

We discuss which of the two brothers that Jesus likes best, and the scene with the brothers’ parents, in which their mother urges them to ask to sit on Jesus’ left and right hands. The existence of the request is not a spoiler, as it’s in the Bible, but The Chosen does have some fun with how it comes about.

SPOILER ALERT OVER

We also get into how native Texan Bueno-Jallad is helping Australian Xanthis adjust to filming in the Lone Star State (the Jerusalem set is in Utah, but Capernaum and other sets are in Texas).

El Paso native Bueno-Jallad also makes an admission about his chili recipe that may shock fans of the well-known Texas Red Chili (which does not have beans or tomatoes).

And, the actors make their pitch about why you should want to see The Chosen on the big screen.

Take a listen: