The Chosen One [2023] – Netflix Series Review

THE CHOSEN ONE (2023) on Netflix is a new action-adventure fantasy sci-fi series with six episodes. It’s very easy to binge-watch and has a touch of both Stand by Me and Stranger Things. Based on a comic. Read our The Chosen One season 1 review here!

THE CHOSEN ONE (2023) is a new Netflix series based on the trilogy of graphic novels titled “Amercian Jesus”.  Most of the main characters are young – on the cups of becoming teenagers – which reminded me of both Stand by Me and Stranger Things, but with a touch of the more serious movies like City of God as well.

Not to be confused with the 2019 Netflix series from Brazil which also had this International English title, while having the original Portuguese title of O Escolhido. You can find our review of that series from 2019 here. To make the confusion a tad worse, the Spanish title of this 2023 series is El Elegido. Yeah, it can get a little too confusing for comfort!

Continue reading our The Chosen One review below. Find all six episodes on Netflix from August 16, 2023.

To answer your calling or not

In The Chosen One (or El Elegido as the Spanish title is and most of the story takes place in Mexico), we experience the story of Jodie. He’s a twelve-year-old boy from Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur, who lives with his American mom (Dianna Agron).

In fact, despite being having been in Mexico since he was an infant (we see them arriving in Mexico in the opening sequence), he is still referred to as “Gringo”.

In any case, Jodie survives a freak accident after having been on quite an adventure with his friends – think Stand by Me. After this accident, Jodie discovers that he has Jesus-like powers, which then gives it a taste of Stranger Things where Eleven has special powers.

And yes, I am referring to these iconic and beloved stories to get you to give The Chosen One (2023) a shot. I’ll admit that.

With this discovery, the young Jodie (played beautifully by newcomer Bobby Luhnow), must decide how to move forward. Will he accept what seems to be his destiny and lead the world? Even if it means leading us through a conflict that’s been thousands of years in the making? Or will he try to fight his fate to be a “normal boy”?!

Will we get The Chosen One season 2?

The storyline does get pretty dark (to put it mildly), and I really hope this is only the first of several seasons. This first season ends with a jump into the future which teases what happens in the later graphic novels.

Hopefully, we’ll get to see everything that happened in between (and after) the storyline teased in those final moments.

However, I can’t help but feel that the final scenes are included in this first season to let us know how it will evolve. You know, just in case this turns out to be yet another one of those Netflix series that was canceled way too soon.

I have faith (pun intended, though I am not religious) that the fans of the graphic novels and those who give this a shot can turn this into a hit. Despite not being religious myself – faith and religion are two very different things, mind you – I never felt it became too wrapped up in religion. Not in any way that bothered me, anyway.

So, here’s hoping word will spread that The Chosen One is the kind of series you don’t want to miss, so we can get The Chosen One season 2 greenlit in record time.

Watch season 1 of The Chosen One on Netflix now!

As already mentioned, this 2023 Netflix series is based on the famous trilogy of graphic novels created by writer Mark Millar and artist Peter Gross. The graphic novels are titled “American Jesus” but the story has been moved to take place primarily in Mexico for this first season. And it makes sense for many of the elements to come across even stronger.

To be fair, we do begin and end in the US, but the core story takes place in Mexico in December 1999.

The director of all six episodes (each around 45 minutes in runtime) is Everardo Gout and he has already directed a few things you should know. From episodes of Snowpiercer or The Terror and more recently, Kaleidoscope and the movie The Forever Purge.

If you’ve enjoyed Stand by Me or Stranger Things, then please do yourself a favor and give this series a shot as well. Especially those final moments of episode 6 make me really want a season 2. In fact, I have no doubt many genre fans would probably enjoy seeing that story even more, while this first season is essentially an origin story to build on.

The Chosen One season 1 premieres on Netflix on August 16, 2023.

Details

Creators: Everado Gout, Leopoldo Gout, Jorge Dorantes
Director: Everardo Gout
Cast: Bobby Luhnow, Dianna Agron, Lilith Amelie Siordia Mejia, Juan Fernando González Anguamea, Jorge Javier Arballo Osornio, Alberto Pérez-Jácome Kenna, Patricio Serna Meza, Carlos Bardem, Alfonso Dosal, Sofía Sisniega, Eileen Yáñez, Tenoch Huerta