While the Hollywood strike may leave moviegoers with a bit of a wait for the next big blockbuster, fans of The Chosen – the hit multi-season series on the life of Christ – are celebrating that the show has been green-lit to continue filming. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has reportedly granted a waiver to The Chosen, which allows cast members who belong to the guild to circumvent their contractual obligation to strike.
According to Deadline, the show was nearing the end of filming for the much anticipated fourth season when the strike was voted. As several actors in the cast – including Jonathan Roumie (Jesus) – are members of the guild, the fear was that they would be expected to support their fellow actors by refusing to work. The filming schedule was only delayed by a couple of days while showrunner Dallas Jenkins sought permission from the SAG to continue. He wrote in a social media post:
“We’ve submitted all the requested paperwork immediately. We fit all qualifications for an exemption. Every day that goes by without your response costs us hundreds of thousands of dollars while your actors are stuck in Utah. We’re the good guys. We’ve treated your actors well.”
Deadline notes that the permission to continue filming was granted to The Chosen because it is not affiliated with a major production company. The current strike is being driven by disputes between the actors and writers and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. According to BBC, the strike is due to a discrepancy in how actors and writers are paid residuals for movies and shows aired on streaming platforms. Also in contention is a proposed practice of scanning actors' faces to use them digitally in perpetuity, without compensating the subject.
The Chosen is the first and only show that has been granted an exemption and the first to restart production since the strike began. It will likely remain the only show that keeps filming, as not many series or films are produced by independent companies these days.
With an estimated two weeks of filming left on their schedule, The Chosen’s fourth season remains on track for its planned release in early 2024.
Click here to read more about The Chosen and learn where to watch the thrilling show depicting the life of Christ based on the biblical narratives.
