Dallas Jenkins, creator and director of “The Chosen,” recently spoke to ChurchLeaders about his excitement and the challenges behind creating 5&2 Studios‘ new animated series, “The Chosen Adventures.”
Jenkins serves as the executive producer of new series.
The animated series stars Jonathan Roumie (“The Chosen”) as Jesus, Romy Fay as Abby, Paul Walter Hauser (“Black Bird,” “Richard Jewell,” “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”) as Sheep, Elizabeth Tabish (“The Chosen,” “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”) as Mary Magdalene, Yvonne Orji (“Night School”) as Pigeon, Danny Nucci (“The Rock”) as Abba, and Jordin Sparks (“Left Behind”) as Fish. Many others, including Paras Patel, Brandon Potter, Noah James, and George H. Xanthis, voice their respective characters from “The Chosen.”
According to the show’s synopsis, “The Chosen Adventures” follows the story of “nine-year-old Abby and her best friend Joshua as they navigate life in the ancient city of Capernaum.”
“When the children encounter a wise craftsman and teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, he helps them change the way they see the world, and they help spread his influence far and wide (among the 7 to 12-year-old set),” The synopsis continues.
And, yes, the series includes talking sheep, pigeon, and fish.
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Jenkins explained how adapting the Gospels into animation required balancing humor and depth for both children and adults. He emphasized that while the show is accessible to kids, it holds profound spiritual lessons for adults—especially in recapturing a childlike faith that Jesus often praised. Jenkins shared that the animated format adds whimsy and warmth without sacrificing truth.
“It’s definitely challenging because, when you read the Gospels, you’re not thinking of them as an animated kids’ experience,” Jenkins explained. “As adults, when we’re writing the ‘mothership’ show, it comes a little more naturally because it’s a mature, adult show.” But, Jenkins said, “I love animation. When I was raising my kids and introducing them to animated movies and TV shows, we really said we’re not going to have them watch the dumb or silly ones.”
He added, “We’re going to watch the good ones, the ones that are witty but also have something meaningful to say.” So “The Chosen Adventures” came out of that mentality, Jenkins explained.
“It was challenging because every time you write a joke or a scene, you ask, ‘Could a four-year-old understand this, but could a 50-year-old enjoy it as well?’ That’s the challenge,” Jenkins said. “But storytelling is still storytelling. We followed the storytelling rules and ‘The Chosen’ way.”
Jenkins shared that they aimed to make their new animated series “feel authentic, human, and relatable—even though there are scenes with a talking pigeon and a sheep, and everything’s a bit more exaggerated.”
