It’s time for the first ever Tew Awards for TV & Film Production. The reason these awards
have never been given, no ceremony ever been held, is that completely unqualified is the
creator and judge of the awards. But why should that stop me? The show must go on.
This year’s awards all go to The Chosen, since it’s the first and/or best of its kind, in
many senses of the word, in human history. My ignorance will be exposed as I write this, but
I’m so excited that something as phenomenal as The Chosen is happening in my lifetime that, dang-it, I’m just writing it anyway. Here are the twelve (same as the number of Jesus’ apostles and tribes of Israel) awards going to The Chosen.
- Best Ever Depiction of Jesus Christ in Any Medium. It seems to me you have to have a
complete team, with all cylinders pumping, to pull off the Jesus The Chosen pulled off.
Two men made up most of that team, writer and director Dallas Jenkins and actor
Jonathan Roumie. Still there were crews and a cast, any of whom could have made it
more or less difficult to capture Jesus of Nazareth the way they did. Not very
knowledgeable about the process of making a show like The Chosen, I am an observant
viewer of many portrayals of Jesus over the years. In my mind, although many have
done it well, there isn’t a close second to the Jesus of The Chosen.
- Best Treatment of Women in a Scripture-based Work. Every other production of a
Biblical narrative I’ve ever seen has given women less dignity than they’ve given the
men. But The Chosen shows how Jesus would’ve treated them in the context of first
century Palestinian Jewish culture. He honors and respects them, and Jenkins gives the
female characters more true to life character traits than other productions have. For
example, Mary of Magdala, who follows Jesus right along with the male disciples, is
often the one contributing the most wisdom in the disciples’ conversations. It’s very
refreshing. The women in my life – my wife, mother, sisters, daughters and friends –
have often been voices of wisdom for me. Why wouldn’t that have been the case in any
generation, including Jesus’? Some other productions have stuffed female characters
into images to fit fundamental stereotypes, including sexualizing them. So it’s nice to
see women like Mary Magdalene, Jesus’ mother Mary and Simon’s wife Eden portrayed
as wise, godly, yet still lovely female characters. And that description would fit every
prominent female character in The Chosen.
- Best Use of Creative Backstory for Scriptural Narrative. This is one of The Chosen’s
greatest strengths. The backstory it established for Mary, whom the Bible says was
delivered from seven demons, sets forth a scenario to consider, as does the one
established about Simon’s need for a miraculous catch of fish after trying unsuccessfully
himself all night before meeting Jesus. And Nathanael’s reason for being under the fig
tree, why it was significant that Jesus saw him there, is a masterful creative suggestion.
Also, why did Matthew just follow Jesus straightway from his tax booth when He called
him? The Chosen backdrops a story that would answer that question, as it also does questions we’ve had as we read about the Samaritan woman at the well. After watching these episodes, you’ll never read those passages the same again.
- Best Ever Para-Scripture Resource. The best-selling book in history, after the Bible, is
John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. My son, Sidney, says The Chosen is the Pilgrim’s
Progress of this era. I concur, but I’ll take it a giant step further. I believe history will
prove that The Chosen eclipses Pilgrim’s Progress as the best ever work that is Scriptural
but not Scripture itself. It does have the advantage of benefitting from a medium (tv)
that wasn’t available to Bunyan. And even though it’s visual in nature, I’d put the sheer
writing up against any Christian literary work. - Best Connector of Historical or Biblical Culture to Viewers’ Culture. It seems a
challenge creators of period pieces always have is how to bridge across the cultural
language barriers. Our culture is filled with idioms, like “pushing someone’s buttons”,
meaning “getting a reaction out of someone.” Obviously, that expression didn’t exist in
first Century Palestine, especially in Aramaic or Greek, since it derives from pressing a
button in the tech age to cause a certain function. But “You know which buttons to push
with Thro [a character in a Jericho tavern]” is a line out of The Chosen. To me it’s a good
use of a modern US English idiom to accurately portray banter in that particular scene.
There are many others. The writer is clearly careful and intentional in the use of idiom
throughout the series. He does it very well. It communicates to our culture what was in
theirs. And that’s what good period pieces do well. - Best Ever Multi-season TV Series. Until The Chosen, my favorite series was The Andy
Griffith Show. I still love it, especially being a lifelong North Carolinian, but The Chosen
has firmly bumped it into second. This Is Us is number three on my list. There are lots of
good series now, like Call the Midwife, Turn – Washington Spies and others. But The
Chosen stands head and shoulders above all others when you consider all the elements
of a show. - Best Ever Christian Production. Admittedly, I prioritize message over acting, production
and other factors. We have six kids – four Millennials and two Gen Zs, plus two
Millennial daughters-in-law. Typically, I’ll judge a movie or series good if it has a strong
Christian message or theme and my kids will argue the quality of other factors is lacking,
often using words and phrases like cheesy, not-believable acting or predictable stories.
And they usually help me see their points. Not so, though, with The Chosen. It’s strong in
every single element and, as far as I know, my kids agree with me. - Best Writing. I’m not sure how they divvied up the writing in their collaboration. Tyler
Thompson and Ryan Swanson are listed as cowriters along with Dallas Jenkins.
Regardless of who did what, everything comes through with the utmost quality and
clarity, and I’ve heard the actors and crew members say only good about the script. - Best Casting. I believe Amanda Jenkins, Dallas’ wife, was in charge of casting. And she
nailed it! Every actor seems absolutely perfect for their role. I simply don’t know how
they could have cast the show any better. - Best Actor in a Lead Role. Jonathan Roumie makes Jesus a real and believable person;
he also somehow captures his divinity, which Jonathan admits to not understanding
how to do. The final product is simply the most accurate Jesus, according to my
hopefully Scripture-based image of Jesus, any actor has ever portrayed.
11. Best actor in a Supporting Role. This is a tough one. Every actor is amazing; they all
draw the viewer into their characters. I’ve cried tears and shared in the gamut of every
characters’ emotions. I guess the real point is that The Chosen has the top six or eight
supporting actors ever in a production (After them come Don Knotts and Ronnie
Howard.) I’m not making two categories, just one, including males and females. It seems
in keeping with the equal treatment of the genders by the show. I have to be careful to
not merely choose the character I like, but look more at the acting, which, again, I’m
probably unqualified to judge. I love the characters of Little James and Thaddeus.
Shahar Isaac (Simon) is definitely a nominee, as are Austin Reed Alleman (Nathanael),
Erick Avari (Nicodemas) and Vanessa DeSilvio (Photina). So is Paras Patel (Matthew); I
consider Paras the runner up….. And the winner is…. Elizabeth Tabish, who plays Mary
Magdalene!
12. Most Spirit Anointed Production. I’m reluctant to make this twelfth category a
competitive one. I don’t believe God would have us look at it that way. I’m definitely not
qualified to judge who or what project is more anointed by God’s Spirit than other
Christian projects. But let me just say it like this. I receive heart-level ministry from God
every time I watch The Chosen. And I watch an episode as part of my daily devotions almost every morning. On the merit of having included the Holy Spirit so obviously in the making of every scene, The Chosen deserves the highest possible recognition.
If you haven’t seen The Chosen, please watch it asap. Download the app on any device. (The Chosen is the name of the app.) The show has its own app, and it’s free. Everything about the show is free, although you can donate to it, since it’s completely crowd funded. But binge watch seasons 1 and 2, so you’ll be ready for season 3 whenever it comes out. Hopefully soon!
