A new glimpse of the unreleased sixth season of “The Chosen” arrived on Monday with a message from its creator, Dallas Jenkins: “So yeah … I did something a little different this season.”
As anticipated, the clip offered something the show has never depicted before: angels.
Almost immediately, a wave of reactions crashed online. Some fans embraced the creative direction. Others, though, were less enthusiastic, questioning whether the show’s interpretation aligned with their own understanding of scripture.
As the conversations continue to unfold, Jenkins has addressed the range of reactions in a lengthy statement, pushing back on what he sees as viewers’ tendency to form conclusions before they have seen the full picture.
“Some people make ‘certainty’ an idol,” Jenkins wrote, arguing that some viewers treat their own interpretations as fact rather than remaining curious and allowing the story to unfold.
He added that the clip at the center of the conversation was intentionally edited as a brief teaser, without the full context of the scene, so viewers are not necessarily meant to understand everything they are seeing yet.
“Anyone who claims they know what all supernatural beings look like, or who claims they know what they’re looking at in this clip without having seen the episode, should be seriously questioned. Or ignored,” he wrote.
“I have no idea how accurate my depiction of supernatural beings (I show multiple) is this season. I just know the majority of the initial haters have even less of an idea than I do. But certainty is their idol.”
Jenkins encouraged people to watch the series, and then decide within the entire context of the show how they feel about the depiction.
“I have zero doubt nor issue with the fact that some just won’t like it,” he said. “Wouldn’t be the first time. I’ll live.”
The creative process
Executive producer and writer Tyler Thompson speaks during an interview held in the Capernaum Synagogue on the set of “The Chosen” at 5&2 Studios in Midlothian, Texas, on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News The creative decision to depict the angels as they did — culturally diverse, shimmering and warriorlike — was not made merely for the sake of being different. Considerable thought and deliberation went into developing the concept.
It started with the show’s writers.
While working on an early draft for the first episode of Season 6, Tyler Thompson, a longtime writer and executive producer, said he found himself drawn to a particular passage of scripture, which ultimately informed the creative direction.
It was Matthew 26:53 that caught his attention: “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?”
The passage prompted Thompson to consider what it might look like if viewers could actually see the angels Jesus was describing.
“What if we showed them poised, and ready to intervene, and then they were in effect told not to?” he told the Deseret News in September. “That’s how it started, and then we all talked about it together, and we sort of yes-anded each other on it, and we saw more opportunities throughout.”
From there, the idea took shape as the writers considered other supernatural events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion — which is depicted in the upcoming season.
An earthquake, the tearing of the temple curtain and darkness covering the land were among the moments that prompted further discussions of where the angels might appear.
“We were on a text thread just like pointing out all the different ways the angels could get involved,” Thompson said. “And also, the very fact of the crucifixion, specifically Jesus’ crucifixion, and the supernatural elements that happen around it seem to suggest a kind of like grazing of heaven and Earth.”
He added, “It seems like the wall is sort of being peeled back, or like the barrier is somehow being peeled back between the two realms.”
Bringing that concept to the screen, however, required a much larger creative collaboration.
James Cunningham, a production designer on the series, said the creative team went through multiple rounds of discussions and concept development, working alongside the costume, hair and makeup departments to settle on the angels’ appearance.
“It took a long time. We eventually got there,” Cunningham said. “But we were mostly going off of what Tyler and Dallas wanted as the look of it.”
“Some people agreed, some people disagreed,” he added. “It was kind of an ambitious move, actually.”
Cunningham added that, because angels had never been depicted in “The Chosen” before, there was some uncertainty over how viewers would respond. But when the team previewed a clip at ChosenCon in February, the response was encouraging.
“People reacted really well to it,” he said.
Jenkins on biblical accuracy
The conversations surrounding the depiction of the angels reflect concerns some viewers have raised about the biblical accuracy of the series, questions that have followed “The Chosen” throughout its run.
Jenkins has addressed questions about the show’s biblical accuracy in the past, maintaining that “The Chosen” is not intended to replace scripture but rather to encourage viewers to engage with it.
“If people got all of their scriptural beliefs or understanding from our shows, that would be an issue,” Jenkins said, adding, “It would also be bad to replace the Bible with ‘The Chosen.‘”
He continued, “Now, there may be other concerns that people have, and that’s fine. And I’m really not going to ever get in the way in or in between you and whatever pastor or mentor that you have about this show. That’s between you and God and you and them.”
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