The wildly popular show âThe Chosenâ is being forced to stop filming its fourth season due to the Screen Actorâs 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.
âUnfortunately, despite the requested work we did on our end, an exemption for us will not be granted in time to avoid a shutdown,â he began.
âWe will do a little filming tomorrow of everything that doesnât require our cast, and then weâll wait and hope that either the strike ends (unlikely soon), or that weâre granted an exemption and can resume filming.â
Jenkins concluded with a message that while it is disappointing, God will provide.
âYes, itâs upsetting and will cost time and moneyâŚbut we bring our five loaves and two fish. God handles the rest.â
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Jenkins previously stated the first few episodes of season four are ready for their big debut. (The third season is currently airing.)
âWorst case scenarioâŚwe have already filmed everything from the first four episodes,â he said, âso even if the remainder of filming is delayed, the editing and release of the first four wonât be.â
âThe Chosenâ 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 showâs return given that the strike doesnât 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 âincreased residual payments (a type of royalty) from streaming services.â
In addition, both groups âwant aggressive guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence to preserve jobs.â
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 â when Ronald Reagan was still an actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.