‘The Chosen’ Season 6 Puts Jesus on Trial in Prime Video’s Historical Epic | Review

Published Nov 13, 2026, 9:00 AM EST

Michael John Petty is a Senior Author for Collider who spends his days writing, in fellowship with his local church, and enjoying each new day with his wonderful wife and precious daughters. At Collider, he writes features, reviews, recaps, interviews, and breaking news on select occasion. In addition to writing about stories, Michael has told a few of his own, from supernatural thrillers to historical fiction. His Western short story, The Devil's Left Hand, received the Spur Award for "Best Western Short Fiction" in 2025 from the Western Writers of America, of which he is a member. Michael currently resides in North Idaho with his growing family.

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Since its first season dropped in 2019, The Chosen has become a global phenomenon. Before this, the story of Jesus Christ (played here by Jonathan Roumie) and his disciples had not been told in a long-form, multi-season television format. Sure, there were miniseries and theatrical renditions, but nothing aimed to go so in depth in exploring the life of those who followed Christ. For five seasons, the series — which began on VidAngel and has grown into a Prime Video hit — has gone beyond the biblical text, for better or worse, to bring first-century Judea to life for modern viewers. With Season 6, premiering on November 15, the entire narrative reaches its long-anticipated climax.

'The Chosen' Season 6 Covers the Last Hours Before the Crucifixion

In the fifth season, dubbed The Chosen: Last Supper (which earned a near-perfect audience score), Jesus and his disciples sit down for their final meal before his death. Unpacking the events from the latter chapters of the New Testament accounts, the season covers Christ's arrival in Jerusalem leading up to Judas Iscariot's (Luke Dimyan) fated betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane. Thus, Season 6 picks up right where we left off. Judas arrives with the Jewish religious leaders and the temple guard to bring Jesus in, representing the fallout from previous seasons. From there, Jesus' arrest starts a wildfire throughout Jerusalem, as his followers are divided, torn between following their rabbi's teachings or going to war on behalf of their Messiah. It's in this distress that the season resides, taking place across a single morning, from daybreak to just before the "third hour of the day" (around 9 AM).

If previous seasons succeeded in balancing the struggle between personal tribulation and the light that comes from Jesus' words, Season 6 revels largely in the former. While there are undoubtedly moments where faith and love prevail, it's only through many tears, deep sorrow, and excruciating pain — emotionally for most, physically for Jesus. Indeed, The Chosen begins its penultimate season with a disclaimer that graphic scenes of torture, violence, and even suicide will be depicted throughout. No, this isn't a TV version of The Passion of the Christ, though any similarities between them are unavoidable. Creator Dallas Jenkins and company never quite get as gory as Mel Gibson. Some may see this as wisdom (and consideration) for the show's audience, while others may feel it doesn't go far enough in representing the brutality of Roman torture. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, as anything The Chosen leaves to the imagination can be easily pictured in the mind's eye.

Roumie's performance this season is far more understated than before. In the Gospel accounts, Jesus famously had very little to say between his arrest and the cross, and that largely remains true here — with some thematic exceptions. Indeed, there is one moment in the sixth episode (and the final chapter to be released in 2026) that feels a bit unbelievable given what Jesus has endured, but, otherwise, Jenkins does well to keep most of his verbal efforts brief. After all, the time for words has passed. Jesus is finally at the event that the entire series has built towards, and so his focus is fixed on the task at hand. This, of course, leads to some interesting reactions from those around him, namely the authorities who claim to hold his life in their hands. Yet, as he famously tells Pontius Pilate (Andrew James Allen) in the Gospel of John, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above."

'The Chosen' Season 6 Explores the Impact of Jesus Christ's Arrest

Image via Prime Video

While Christ himself is the catalyst for the pre-Passover disruptions in Jerusalem, The Chosen's supporting cast anchors the season. As the disciples go into hiding, the Sanhedrin convenes in secret under the oversight of the high priest Caiaphas (Richard Fancy) to bring Jesus' claims to light. The vitriol and contempt with which they view the Nazarene explodes through the screen, but, unfortunately for the Pharisaical elites, they do not have the authority to put him to death — only Rome does. The Chosen continues to explore the tension within the Sanhedrin itself, represented in Caiaphas and Nicodemus (Erick Avari). The show thoroughly details their respective (though differing) motivations for examining Christ, pulling from both historical and biblical texts to bring these ancient figures to life. Avari is a genuine on-screen delight this year, once more getting his due after such an extended on-screen absence (he has been gone since Season 1, though returned briefly last season).

Yet, The Chosen explores more than just Jesus' Jewish persecutors. Perhaps where Season 6 thrives most is in unpacking the various trials of Christ by those given authority by Rome. Characters like Herod Antipas (Paul Ben-Victor) and Pontius Pilate are heavily utilized this season, hoping to retain their power and keep the peace by pushing the apparent "King of the Jews" back on the other. Ben-Victor's concentrated presence as Herod adds an uncomfortable levity to the events, making a mockery of Jesus in the midst of his suffering. Pilate, on the other hand, is a more finely tuned figure. Although I thought Andrew James Allen to be a strange cast at first — he infuses the Roman prefect with an almost boyish charisma — his portrayal here fits in quite well with the show's penchant for reinventing such notable historical and religious figures.

Of course, those affected by Jesus' arrest the most are those within his own circle. Simon Peter (Shahar Isaac) and John (George H. Xanthis) follow Christ at a distance while the remaining disciples, led by Big James (Abe Bueno Jallad) (and sans Judas), go into hiding to evade capture, unraveling amongst themselves. The way the series explores the debate among them — as they wonder how they should proceed — is deeply engaging. The show offers a genuine level of frustration and turmoil that most portrayals don't touch on. Even within Peter and John, uncertainty rules every action and thought, though both hot-headed followers have clearly come far in the last few years under Christ's tutelage. As in the Gospel accounts, this prompts the women, namely Mary of Nazareth (Vanessa Benavente) and Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish), to follow closely after Jesus. Season 6 gives viewers a powerful glimpse at how Mary would react to her son's arrest, torture, and death sentence. Benavente embodies a parental heartbreak that's equal parts human and profound.

'The Chosen' Season 6 Makes Some Questionable Choices

Of course, not every creative choice works. The Chosen experienced some understandable pushback ahead of the premiere when dropping a clip from the teaser that portrays the angelic heavenly host as warriors from differing human cultures. While there's no reason that angels can't appear as different races (indeed, it makes sense that they would), the choice to dress them in historical human garb rather than some unified heavenly armor was both odd and somewhat unsettling. It just takes the viewer out of it. But the biggest departure from the biblical text is Judas himself. The Chosen has done its best to portray Judas as a character and not a caricature, and that is to be celebrated. But while the Gospel accounts paint his portrayal based solely on human greed (and the literal influence of Satan), Season 6 hardly touches on this at all. Instead, these episodes subvert what we know about Judas by suggesting that he betrayed Jesus not simply for his own sinful gain, but because he wanted to force Christ's messianic hand — the money was just a bonus.

It's not uncommon for The Chosen to reframe some of the most pivotal biblical moments when bringing them to the screen. Sometimes, going beyond the text helps to emphasize the point of the text and flesh out the characters; other times it comes across as unbelievable or disingenuous. The Judas revisions are the latter. This isn't the only moment that may give viewers pause this season, either. There is some disruption among the disciples in the later episodes that likewise feels more like an attempt to generate on-screen drama than a natural progression of where we know the story is headed. Perhaps to some viewers this isn't a problem — and some of this is, no doubt, in the eye of this beholder — but when spending a whole season already prolonging a relatively straightforward text (and doing it quite well, in most regards), the "drama for drama's sake" moments stick out like a sore thumb.

What may come as the biggest shock to those tuning in expecting to see the crucifixion is that these first six episodes lead up to the event but don't actually show it. This isn't to say that The Chosen intends to skip the most important moment in the entire Bible, but that the show will go on hiatus for several months between early December and March, culminating in a feature-length finale: The Chosen Crucifixion. Unlike the rest of this season, which was filmed largely in Texas and Utah, the upcoming crucifixion scenes were filmed, like The Passion before it, in Matera, Italy. That said, the last episode of the sixth season to drop this year concludes with the cross in full view, and we all know what will happen next.

The Chosen Season 6 premieres November 15 on Prime Video, while the finale, The Chosen Crucifixion, will premiere in theaters on March 12, 2027.

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  Jesus of Nazareth

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  Elizabeth Tabish

  Mary Magdalene / Lillith

Pros & Cons

• The exploration of the Sanhedrin and Roman officials is done remarkably well.
• The striking visuals, particularly near the end of the season, feel especially transportive to the time.
• The disciples struggle to hold it together as their messiah is marched to his death.

• Judas' motivations for betrayal feel too far-fetched and subversive.
• The Chosen has a habit of creating drama for drama's sake.