How ‘The Chosen’ Premiere Brought the Last Supper to Life for Season 5

Over its first four seasons, several Biblical story tentpoles from the New Testament have come to life on the scripted drama series “The Chosen,” as viewers have witnessed Jesus Christ (Jonathan Roumie) turn water to wine, walk on water, turn fish and bread into a feast for thousands and also resurrect a few lucky folks from their respective deaths. But in Season 5, for the iconic Last Supper, which marked Jesus’ final meal in Jerusalem with his 12 apostles before he was arrested and, eventually, crucified, it was an event that was too gargantuan for the series to keep it to just one episode. (Having had a theatrical premiere over Easter, the first two episodes of the show’s fifth season dropped on Amazon’s Prime Video for its exclusive streaming run on June 15 with Episodes 3-5 premiering on June 22 and Episodes 6-8 on June 29.)

“The Last Supper is so long, and demands to be treated fully,” says executive producer Dallas Jenkins. “Jesus gives so many significant truth bombs not only from scripture, but in the course of our story. Also, there are things that we are doing with relationships that aren’t from scripture, so to just put it all in one episode would have been emotionally exhausting and short-shrifted it.”

So, Jenkins and his writers crafted the season by having each episode open with a scene taking place during the meal. “There are really key moments, such as the washing of the feet, the betrayal of Judas and some of the prayers and practices of a traditional Passover meal that aren’t talked about in scripture, but are very important and historical,” Jenkins says, adding there are specific moments from the Last Supper that align with themes of the different episodes.

He also said he wanted to do something different than previous big events like Season 2’s Sermon on the Mount. “When we did that, we basically did kind of a highlight reel because we thought, ‘OK, 20 minutes of Jesus preaching, there’s some wonderful things, but it’s not very cinematic. With the Last Supper, we just couldn’t justify doing that.”

Filmed in chronological order over four days, Jenkins decided to present each Last Supper segment in reverse order per episode. In other words, the first episode of the season begins with a scene that happens near the end of the meal, and then each subsequent episode moves backwards from that point. “Emotionally, we wanted to let the actors experience the arc of those moments and also subvert expectations with the audience and keep them on their toes,” Jenkins says.

Besides setting up how to portray one of the most famous meals in history, there was also the actual design of it, which began when production designer James Cunningham, who has been with the show since its first season, talked to Jenkins and the writers about their objectives. “They wanted a triclinium, which was a U-shaped table that was used in the 1st century,” Cunningham says. “People would recline on benches or on the floor, and eat from a table set in the center. Traditionally the fourth side was left open for people to serve from.”

Instead of hitting furniture stores and warehouses to find the right table for the show, Cunningham and his team took it upon themselves to build three trestle tables out of oak that when pushed together would become the Last Supper table. “We had to make them 10-feet each to accommodate all the actors, accomodate the director of photography’s need for lighting as well — and to fit into the space and leave enough room for camera and crew.”

Besides the table itself, Biblical research showed where each of the men, including Jesus, would have sat at the table. “Traditionally, the host [Jesus] would have sat at the left side and then the lectus mediusor most honored guest would sit across from the host, which most think was Peter because of his rank in the 12.” Also, Judas, the locus consularis (or primary counselor) would be to Jesus’ left while John would be to his right “because he was said to have reclined on Jesus’ bosom,” says Cunningham. Also, keeping with Jewish tradition, there would be an empty seat for prophet Elijah as a symbol of the hope of redemption.

Some of the traditional seating placement was adjusted for production reasons. “Our director of photography, Akis Konstantakopoulos, wanted Jesus centered in the room for symmetry, and to reflect the iconic DaVinci fresco. We kept the traditions of the honored guests,” Cunningham says. He adds that given the multiple days shooting the Last Supper scenes, they used wooden benches for the cast’s comfort.

And though the show enlisted a seder expert to make sure details were accurate for a traditional Passover meal, as well as accurate to the era itself,  some additions were made — like having plates and silverware that the characters would use to eat as opposed to eating with their hands, as Cunningham says they probably would have actually done. Also, the color of the table cloth used for the show was made lighter, since he says Konstantakopoulos “wanted to create somewhat of a ‘bounce,’ because he wanted the scenes to be darker and the candles to create much of the light.”

Overall, Cunningham says the Last Supper set was the hardest part of his job for Season 5, especially when two weeks prior to filming began when he realized the space they had built wasn’t large enough for the full cast and crew. A quick redesign had to happen, he says. “I wasn’t quite sure how it would all end up with the new design, but when I stepped onto set with the lighting, the table set and the actors framed up, I began to cry,” Cunningham says. “It was such a feeling of relief. It was such an iconic story, and it really felt that even if the design was simple, it captured the essence of this part of the story.”