David Diga Hernandez - The Chosen Bible Series Co-Creator Speaks Out About the Show

So, obviously, anything that makes this big of an impact is going to draw some criticism. How do you deal with the criticism that comes against the show? Um, I think God has given Dallas a superpower, and he’s also given me a superpower that we really— Hello, this is David Diego Hernandez, and you’re watching a very special edition of Encounter TV interviews. My guest is Daryl Eves, the executive producer of The Chosen, my all-time favorite Bible production. Daryl has also been key in helping us strategize to grow our ministry on YouTube. Daryl, it’s an absolute joy to have you with me today! Excited to be here! So, Daryl, when I was on set for the filming of The Chosen, I had an opportunity to interview Dallas Jenkins, who is obviously the director of The Chosen. I’m curious: how did you get connected with Dallas? How did that connection transpire? Yes, so I actually have an agency that works with some of the top YouTube channels and brands around the world. We specialize in audience development and getting people to see things, converting that into revenue. I also hold a conference every year where these YouTubers gather to discuss all things strategy, data, audience development, and more. I basically had a friend of mine with whom I had worked on a couple of projects, one being The Squatty Potty pooping unicorn; we were both executive producers of that ad. He came to the event and showed me a short film that Dallas made for his church, and I was hit to the core. I’ve seen a lot of content because I’ve been building a business around online video, and I can tell you, first off, it was low budget, but the approach was so unique, and the dialogue and tones really spoke to me. Jeffrey Harmon was the individual who introduced me to the content and wanted me to meet Dallas because Dallas wanted to do a TV show, and I was all in. I met him the next week, and we hit it off. He and I started a company called The Chosen. We had zero social following and zero money in the bank, but we had his vision of where he wanted to take the show, and we had direction—working with Angel and also looking to use social media to develop the audience, getting them to do crowdfunding, and fund the project while also helping us push it out into the world. That’s kind of how I got involved with it. So, it’s been almost five years since, and it’s been crazy. But what I love is really just seeing God’s hand throughout the whole process and recognizing the impact this can have when it gets to the right people. For us, that’s kind of what it’s all аbout: making really amazing content and getting it out into the world. This is actually a pretty interesting way that you funded the production of The Chosen. What was it like when you first began to reach out for crowdfunding? How was the response from the public? Well, it’s always hard to start something new, right? It’s hard to begin with zero, and it’s all about getting in front of the right people. The thing for us is that Dallas and I are firm believers, and we thought, «We need a show for us.» If there’s ever a show out there, let’s produce one that we would actually love and get behind. So, we put together a list of things we liked and things we didn’t like. Dallas is a genius regarding his creativity around the content, and for me, what God has given me is the talent to develop audiences. So, it went hand in hand. We decided that instead of doing behind-the-scenes content after the fact, we would do it beforehand to get people to feel our mission and purpose and what we were trying to achieve. That’s what rallied the troops, and those troops became our partners. We also got approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to bring public money in, and the people who invested in the show are our partners. We have over 16,000 partners who made The Chosen possible. It actually came through their foresight and vision of what they wanted to see, and it was our job to pull that off, particularly through Dallas’s role in ensuring that the content is really good and ultimately fulfilling the promise of what the show could be. So, you mentioned that you combined your skill set with Dallas’s directing and creativity. Do you feel that the Lord prepared you with your skill set and experiences for such a time as this? Well, I don’t like to say what God does in the sense of speaking for God; I don’t feel comfortable doing that. But I believe the life experiences I’ve had along the way, along with how I view the internet and audience development, can be leveraged in fulfilling His plans. There were very specific moments where I had a lot of clarity about this.