The CW’s Jesus show resurrected amid actors strike
The Chosen, the crowdfunded TV show about Jesus Christ, has been granted an exemption to finish filming during the strike
Aux News Dallas Jenkins
The Chosen fans, your prayers have been answered. The crowdfunded television series about the life and times of Jesus Christ, which was recently picked up by the CW, will continue filming despite the recently called SAG-AFTRA strike. According to the series’ official Twitter page, The Chosen was granted an exemption from the union that exempts the production from the work stoppage.
On July 13, hours before the stoppage officially began, the series posted on Twitter: “Unfortunately, despite the requested work we did on our end, an exemption for us will not be granted in time to avoid a shutdown. We will do a little filming tomorrow of everything that doesn’t require our cast, and then we’ll wait and hope that either the strike ends (unlikely soon), or that we’re granted an exemption and can resume filming. Yes, it’s upsetting and will cost time and money…but we bring our 5 loaves & 2 fish. God handles the rest.”
After production was halted, creator Dallas Jenkins also posted a personal plea to his Instagram. “Dear @sagaftra, 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. Please take a few minutes to approve our application so your actors can get back to work getting paid for the last two weeks of a season they want to finish.”
SAG-AFTRA announced it would grant exemptions to independent productions willing to sign “interim agreements” with the union. According to Deadline, that agreement includes paying actors an 11% wage increase, which was SAG-AFTRA’s last counter in negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), though micro-budget projects may have different interim agreement terms. These independent productions cannot be affiliated with any of the companies that make up the AMPTP and will be “retroactively to whatever contract terms eventually are achieved with the AMPTP when the strike is settled,” per Deadline.
These interim agreements are expected to be granted largely to indie films, but The Chosen’s first three seasons were crowdfunded, making it a mostly independent production. The fact that the show just got a cushy licensing deal with Lionsgate (which sent Jesus to the CW) is a gray area. According to Deadline, the licensing deal may only be for the first three seasons, not the fourth, which is currently in production. The series is distributed by Angel Studios (of Sound Of Freedom fame), which is an independent operation that finances multiple productions through crowdfunding.
After a brief shutdown, The Chosen announced that it had “been approved for a waiver” on Sunday. And not a moment too soon, as fans were beginning to get conspiratorial. (As is their wont—see Sound Of Freedom.) “They don’t want Christian shows,” Leigh Allyn Baker (of Good Luck Charlie fame) commented on Jenkins’ plea to SAG-AFTRA. “Paranoid? Maybe. Possibly? Absolutely. My theory: the strike is intended to slow down/stop all forward movement for the Chosen series as well as the Resurrection movies,” wrote one Twitter user. “The devil is in the details.”
“Simply, the actors we employ are SAG actors, and the union is striking, which applies to all in the union,” The Chosen social media responded to this bit of conspiracy thinking, explaining to another that “our actors are not striking against us.” The show will continue its fourth season shoot beginning on Monday.
29 Comments
Again with the squeaky shoes.
My theory: the strike is intended to slow down/stop all forward movement for the Chosen series as well as the Resurrection movies Jesus fucking Christ
It’s almost as if they’re conditioned to believe nonsense.
Jesus wouldn’t SCAB.I’m so sick of fake christians.
Jesus is sucking up to Caesar on this one.
“Fucked are the poor, for they are lazy and filthy parasites to me. Blessed are the rich, for their value-creation they deserve the kingdom of heaven.”-Jesus, famously
There is not ‘scab’ about this production. As long as the union allows you to work (with a waiver), you aren’t a scab.
“The fact that the show just got a cushy licensing deal with Lionsgate (which sent Jesus to the CW) is a gray area.”
How/why is that a gray area? A movie that was produced independently and then picked up by a distributor is still an independently produced movie.
The miracle of the five loves, two fish, and about three d0zen scabs.
They’re not scabs if they’re working under an interim agreement. If they refuse to work they can be fired and sued for damages and the union would be unlikely to help them as it would be an unauthorized work stoppage. If you don’t like it, blame the parties to the agreement, not the workers.
I know that. I read the article. The zinger was too good to pass up.
In their defense, you can’t always assume other commenters have read the article.Good zinger though.
That’s very true. Some of us don’t even read the comments.
This is true. I’m not even reading this one!/s
“Paranoid? Maybe. Possibly? Absolutely. My theory: the strike is intended to slow down/stop all forward movement for the Chosen series as well as the Resurrection movies,” wrote one Twitter user. “The devil is in the details.” ::inhales::“THE DEVIL” DOESN’T FUCKING CARE ABOUT YOU, YOU WEIRD FUCKING KNOBS. YOU’RE BASING YOUR BOGEYMAN ON ACTUAL, LITERAL FANFICTION.Signed,~Someone Who Has Actually Studied This Shit
“You mean it’s just fiction all the way down?”“Always has been”
Hollywood does NOT want this show to happen! After all – how else will people learn the truth about Jesus Christ?!?…except for in the widely-available book. And all the movies and miniseries that already exist. And all those churches nearby. And billboards on the freeway for some reason.
And all of US politics and government.
I think a good portion of those followers are borderline illiterate, and the ones who can read are usually evil enough to twist the interpretation for the dumber ones.
I think you will find that the best worshippers are the one that don’t read the holy text and just listen to what their preacher/priest/imam/rabbi tells them.
Define “best.”
to be fair, have you read it? ugh, that shit’s* violent and sexually depraved. i wouldn’t let a child anywhere near it.*king james version
“Paranoid? Maybe. Possibly? Absolutely. My theory: the strike is
intended to slow down/stop all forward movement for the Chosen series as
well as the Resurrection movies,” wrote one Twitter user.An entire industry is striking just to shut down the fourth season of some random Jesus show most people haven’t even heard of. Flawless logic. This is up there with Elon “I’ll reduce my debt by just not paying any of my expenses” Musk.I’m surprised these people can breathe without regular reminders.
This is the fourth season?! Is it like The Handmaid’s Tale where they kept going past the end of the book?
In the series finale, Jesus goes berserk and burns down Jerusalem.
We’re the good guys. We’ve treated your actors well.Sounds more like a hostage negotiation.
I dunno. If you’re willing to do scab work with a studio that’s pushing Qanon bullshit I dunno if you’re a hostage at that point.
The series is distributed by Angel Studios (of Sound Of Freedom fame), which is an independent operation that finances multiple productions through crowdfunding.Okay, so it’s all part of the same big QAnon grift.
“our actors are not striking against us.”
That’s not how any of this works.
My theory: the strike is intended to slow down/stop all forward movement
for the Chosen series as well as the Resurrection movies
These people are so fucking stupid.