The Chosen and Angel Studios Part Ways Amid Contract Dispute
Dallas Jenkins, creator of the popular faith-based series The Chosen, announced the end of the show’s partnership with Angel Studios following a contract dispute. Jenkins stated, “We simply had an arbitrator decide whether or not the contract had been breached and should be terminated.” He reported that the arbitrator “comprehensively affirmed our position” and concluded that “the contract is indeed terminated and The Chosen’s relationship with Angel Studios is effectively over.”
Not an easy decision
Jenkins emphasized the weight of the decision, saying, “We didn’t come to the decision lightly, but it was our decision to terminate the contract and ask an arbitrator to rule on the termination.” Despite the split, Jenkins expressed appreciation for Angel Studios‘ contributions, acknowledging their role in launching the show and providing “total creative freedom and ownership” throughout their collaboration. However, he noted that “the burden we bore was far greater than any of us anticipated for the show’s continuation.” He added, “Good people can disagree.”
Angel Studios responded with a statement reflecting on their role in the series’ success. “The team at Angel Studios is honored to have been instrumental in the founding and unbelievable growth of The Chosen. Our long hours of hard work over the last eight years by teams of programmers, marketers, translators, licensing experts, and innovators have helped it become the worldwide success that it is today,” the statement read.
Studio expresses regret over termination of the agreement
The studio expressed regret over the termination of their agreement with The Chosen, Inc. and revealed plans to appeal the decision. “Sadly, The Chosen, Inc. chose to terminate its agreement with us. We hope that one day the agreement will be restored—and we plan to pursue the appeal provision that Angel and The Chosen agreed to as the process for resolving disagreements privately,” they added.
Angel Studios shared an update for fans, including a 24:55 video highlighting the support from over 35,000 backers out of the 884,802 people who contributed to the show’s funding via Angel’s platform. The post also noted that Angel Studios facilitated $11 million in investments for the inaugural season, leading to $115,189,337.27 in royalties sent to The Chosen since the release of Season One.
Angel Studios outlined their significant contributions to the show’s success including building an audience of over 106 million people worldwide with over half a billion views of The Chosen episodes, inventing the Pay-It-Forward business model, licensing to distribution partners, translation, and much more.
Despite the contract termination and pending appeal, Angel Studios encouraged fans to continue supporting the goal of bringing The Chosen to one billion people worldwide. The studio remains hopeful that the appeal process will lead to a resolution, allowing the collaboration with The Chosen to resume in the future.
