‘The Chosen’ Breaks Record for Most-Translated TV Show

ADAM MACINNIS|MAY 13, 2024 06:00 AM (https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2024/may/chosen-translation-dubbing-global-record.html?utm_source=CT%20Daily%20Briefing%20Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_term=991286&utm_content=16643&utm_campaign=email)

A few quotes follow from this short but interesting news report:

The real test for a translation—going beyond accuracy alone—is whether it connects with human hearts. “Translation also has to be beautiful,” Jantz (Come and See CEO Stan Jantz) told CT. “It’s an art as much as it is a science.”

It takes Come and See between three and five months to translate a season of the show into a new language. The group partners with other organizations that specialize in translation to speed up the process.

As with Bible translation projects, Come and See has prioritized the most-spoken languages, where a translation of the show could have an impact on the largest number of people. “But there are what I would call exceptions,” Jantz said. One of the first 50 translations, for example, was into Malagasy, which is spoken by about 25 million people in Madagascar and the Comoros. That dub job was prioritized at the request of Madagascar’s president, Andry Rajoelina. ... When Come and See decides to translate The Chosen into a language, they seek out pastors, Bible translators, and Bible scholars who speak that language.

Kyle Young, head of The Chosen’s marketing and distribution department, said the show has now reached 200 million viewers. The viewership outside the US is now larger than its American audience. It is especially popular in Brazil, Mexico, India, Poland, and the Philippines.