Is ‘House of David’ Connected to ‘The Chosen’?
March 23, 2025
If you haven’t already heard the news, Prime Video’s House of David has been put on the map as one of the streamer’s biggest recent hits, earning it a quick Season 2 renewal. The show’s quick success, combined with its distinct biblical subject matter, has left many wondering if House of David is in any way connected to the other major Bible-to-series adaptation, The Chosen. The truth is, these stories are sort of connected, but not the way you think. Here’s what fans need to know.
No, ‘House of David’ Is Not a Prequel to ‘The Chosen’
From the beginning, House of David didn’t receive the same impressive Rotten Tomatoes scores as The Chosen, but that doesn’t mean these two shows couldn’t have been connected in some way. Yes, both series are based on parts of the Bible (House of David pulls from the Old Testament while The Chosen pulls from the New Testament), and both shows are currently available for streaming on Prime Video. Nevertheless, House of David is not a prequel to The Chosen and doesn’t technically take place in the same universe. That may sound confusing since David is supposed to be Jesus Christ’s ancestor, but let us explain.
To make things more complicated, Dallas Jenkins, the creator of The Chosen, is listed as a “creative consultant” and is heavily involved with The Wonder Project, the same company behind House of David. This is no doubt due to his success at bringing the story of Jesus to life for the first time in a long-form, multi-season television format. However, when Jenkins and House of David creator Jon Erwin sat down for the Wonder Project’s The Aftershow program, they confirmed that The Chosen and House of David are not related to one another. “There was a time when we were considering [House of David as] being a part of The Chosen canon/Chosen universe, and it just didn’t work out,” Jenkins explained. “And I think that’s for the best.” Erwin echoed this himself, and the two explained that though they like to collaborate creatively, these projects are separate entities.
Despite the Similar Source Material, Both Shows Have Different Tones
Frankly, it’s a good thing that House of David and The Chosen have remained separate. In many ways, the former feels like an entirely different method of storytelling than the latter, and while the Bible compiles both the story of King David and that of Christ into one collected volume, that doesn’t mean that everyone retelling these tales needs to connect their adaptations together. “House of David feels like it’s in a different genre,” Jenkins later noted, and he’s absolutely right. House of David leans heavily into some of the more fantastical elements of the Old Testament story (such as the biblical Nephilim story) that would not quite fit the tone or style of The Chosen, and vice versa. Likewise, it means that audiences can enjoy one or both of these shows as individual projects without the need to watch the other for greater context.
Keeping these two shows as separate entities, despite the collaboration of those involved in each project, was a smart move on their part. This may feel a bit confusing given that Amazon holds the distribution rights to both, and each series can be found on Prime Video, but in the same way that The Passion of the Christ is distinct from The Chosen, so too are these biblically-based programs separated by creative vision and artistic intent. In that sense, House of David allows itself to play as a royal drama, full of incredibly well-produced battle sequences and dark visions of the future. Conversely, The Chosen maintains its down-to-earth approach, following the twelve disciples and dealing with a different set of cultural problems. Indeed, House of David wouldn’t work as a prequel to The Chosen anyway because Jorge Franco IV already appears as King David in various flashbacks in the multi-season drama.
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‘The Chosen’ Universe Continues to Expand as ‘House of David’ Picks Up Steam
Back in 2024, it was revealed that The Chosen was going to be expanding with various spin-offs and prequel projects set within this fictional Chosen universe. A sequel series about the twelve Apostles (chronicling the Book of Acts) is set to continue The Chosen story past its seventh season, while prequels centered on Moses (Stelio Savante) and Joseph (the one from Genesis, not Jesus’ adoptive father) are being developed as well. Currently, The Chosen is moving into its fifth season, subtitled Last Supper, as we inch closer and closer to the inevitable crucifixion of Christ (played in the series by Jonathan Roumie). It seems that Dallas Jenkins and his Chosen universe are showing no signs of slowing down, even venturing into the realms of reality television and children’s animation.
Meanwhile, House of David has already been renewed for a second season and continues to gain interest as we gear toward the inevitable confrontation between David (Michael Iskander) and Goliath (Martyn Ford). As King Saul (Ali Suliman) slowly loses his grip on his sanity, David steps closer to becoming the next King of Israel. While no House of David spin-offs or prequels have yet been announced, it would not come as a surprise if Jon Erwin and the Wonder Project pursued a series about the early days of Saul’s anointing and reign, set thirty years before the events of the series. Considering how King David’s story ends and how the kingdom splits after his son Solomon’s reign, it’s entirely possible that we could see some sort of continuation of the dual kingdoms of Israel and Judah after House of David is over. Nevertheless, we’re thrilled that House of David is doing so well and that Amazon seems to believe in the project.
House of David and The Chosen are both available to stream on Prime Video.
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The Chosen is a historical drama based on the life of Jesus and those who knew him. Set against the backdrop of Roman oppression in first-century Palestine, the series shares an authentic look at Jesus’ revolutionary life and teachings.
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