The wildly popular show “The Chosen” is being forced to stop filming its fourth season due to the Screen Actor’s Guild strike.
Dallas Jenkins, the creator of the Christian show that depicts the life of Jesus, announced the news in a Thursday night Facebook post.
“Unfortunately, despite the requested work we did on our end, an exemption for us will not be granted in time to avoid a shutdown,” he began.
“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.”
Jenkins concluded with a message that while it is disappointing, God will provide.
“Yes, it’s upsetting and will cost time and money…but we bring our five loaves and two fish. God handles the rest.”
Jenkins previously stated the first few episodes of season four are ready for their big debut. (The third season is currently airing.)
“Worst case scenario…we have already filmed everything from the first four episodes,” he said, “so even if the remainder of filming is delayed, the editing and release of the first four won’t be.”
Teach a kid to fish and… #TheChosen pic.twitter.com/P9d5kKjYC0
— The Chosen (@thechosentv) July 3, 2023
“The Chosen” burst onto the scene in 2019, winning over virtually everyone. On aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes, the first season the show has a sterling 100 percent critic rating and a 99 percent audience rating.
Fans of the show are rightfully concerned about the show’s return given that the strike doesn’t appear particularly close to ending.
The strike first began with writers in May, with some shows halting and networks turning to reality shows, reruns, and game shows to fill the gaps.
The strike stems from actors and writers demanding “increased residual payments (a type of royalty) from streaming services.”
In addition, both groups “want aggressive guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence to preserve jobs.”
Susan Sarandon talks about the impact of AI during the #ActorsStrike: “I would hope that in the future people understand the difference between real people making real choices and something that’s basically animation” pic.twitter.com/dwUW5jHt6Q
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 14, 2023
Actors joined the writers in the strike on Friday.
The New York Times reported the last time both groups were on strike was in 1960 — when Ronald Reagan was still an actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.