The Chosen season 4 is now on TheCW! You can watch the episodes live on Sundays and then streaming on Mondays. We caught up with Elizabeth Tabish to talk more about the exciting offering as well as growth, transformation and how you can be part of the upcoming ChosenCon.
Interviewed for Family Entourage
Family Entourage: It’s such an exciting time with The Chosen‘s fourth season now on the CW Network. It’s so fun because fans can watch it and then they can stream it the next day. So there’s just so many more ways that you’re able to kind of gain new eyeballs and share the story with new audiences. So what do you hope that fans will find if they stumble upon the show in this format?
Elizabeth Tabish: I hope they find a character, or a few of them, that they really relate to. I think part of the thing that makes The Chosen different is that we’re portraying all of these characters from the Gospels in these really refreshing and honest and relatable ways. They’re not saints yet. They are fully flawed, messy, neurotic, anxious, depressed people that meet Jesus and are transformed by him. And we witnessed that transformation over many episodes, over many seasons. We see what growth looks like in real time, where it’s not just like you meet Jesus and ah, you’re great, you’re done, you’re finished in your spiritual growth. It really showcases what growth really feels like, which is sometimes two steps forward, one step back, getting triggered, learning from your mistakes and following through and continuing on with your faith despite sometimes tragic, sometimes challenging experiences. I hope that as people watch it, they can see themselves in these characters and see that there are some really wonderful opportunities within this show to witness what growth could look like for them as well.
FE: I think that’s so important, and especially with your character, you play Mary Magdalene. And so for those that are new to the series, maybe share a little bit about her arc that we’ve seen briefly from the first through fourth seasons.
ET: She goes from zero to… she’s got quite a transformation when we first meet her in season one, episode one, she isn’t even going by her name, she’s going by Lilith. She struggles with I think addiction, with alcohol, with numbing herself. She is possessed by seven demons, which you hear that and you’re like, oh wow, that’s intense. But when you witness it and watch that play out of how that was just destroying her and kind of leading her even to suicide, it’s dramatic and it’s tragic. And there’s a lot of PTSD that she’s dealing with that I think many women and men can possibly relate to if they’ve gone through similar sort of abuse or attacks or that type of pain. And so really assault. So we see her, although it’s the first century, we can see modern experiences in her story and she’s just right at the end of her rope and then she meets Jesus, and I won’t give too much away, but she ends up being healed by him and following him.
And so the rest of these seasons we witness how she continues to grow through him. And what I like, I think from her character and what I’ve learned so much from her character is that she’s been able to use her painful past as a way to have compassion for others when she witnesses them. Also going through painful things. And I think that’s just such a beautiful thing that we can, sometimes God gives us really challenging things, and it’s not to break us, it’s to strengthen us. It’s to rely on him and to use these experiences to reach out and to help others. And in her story, we witness a lot of that.
FE: I feel like it gets more and more emotional, but that’s probably because I get more and more invested in the characters too and how they’re going to handle everything, especially with your character because of everything that she goes through, you taking her on as an actress emotionally, what does that look like for you? Do you try to compartmentalize the two? Does it blur sometimes? How do you stay mentally strong going through some of these things?
ET: At times, her storyline has sort of synced up with my own life in that I get to almost use some of the scenes as catharsis. I helps me understand what I’m going through. At other times she’s teaching me what the right choices are and also how to forgive yourself and how to really let go of who you thought you were in the past and to find a really joyful life. And yes, sometimes it’s overwhelming, sometimes emotionally, almost too much in those instances. It is what we all have to do and it’s surrender. You just kind of like, well, this is, I’m doing this. We have to do this and go through it and just trust that. I think knowing that it has helped people and has made people find some hope and grow in their faith and find joy in their lives and feel recognized and seen by this character, I think knowing that it makes it all easier. It makes even the really difficult moments that much easier because there’s such a wonderful purpose in it.
FE: I got the opportunity to experience some of the sets and see how immersive it is and how you really can feel transported to these locations. So I’ve got to ask you, is there something that comes immediately to mind that was either a day of shooting that was just fun or particularly difficult or it was such a great ensemble that it just felt, I don’t know, just something that is very poignant in your mind that you remember from filming?
ET: There are so many wonderful experiences. There been so many, there’ve been moments, and it’s usually on when there’s a lot of people, lots of extras and something big is happening, but it’s all really quiet right before we’re about to film. I think those are the moments where I kind look around, I’m like, is this really happening? Just kind of pinching myself of the show has grown so much in such a short amount of time. It’s taken me a little bit of time to catch up with it and be like, oh, this is happening there. I go back to the Sermon on the Mount in season two. I was going through something and it was freezing. It was so cold, and I was so cold that I kind of threw out my neck. And so I was like in this physical pain and sort of emotional turmoil and did not want to be there.
I was just like, I can’t do this. And then they kind of opened the curtains and you see thousands of extras in the freezing cold without heaters, without warmers and all in costume in sandals. And I’m just thinking, how are they willing to be here without a guarantee that they’ll be on screen or a guarantee? And they were all just so happy and smiling. It was like the cold didn’t even affect them. And seeing that strength and that sort of dedication kind of changed something. In my bratty actor, even if you’re physically uncomfortable, it doesn’t matter. The purpose of this show and the effect that it has is so important. And it strengthened me in a lot of ways.
FE: Well, speaking of the masses of fans, you have ChosenCon coming up and you’re going to be headed to Orlando this month, and it’s great because people can attend in person or virtually. So maybe what are you most looking forward to in connecting with fans that way?
ET: Oh, so this is my first ChosenCon, I didn’t go last year, but I’m really excited. The lineup for the panels and the discussion topics and everything. I’m really excited to get a chance to chat with all of the cast. And then there’s meet and greets, so I’m excited to meet fans. These sort of events are, I mean, in terms of what it, I don’t know, it bonds us. It bonds us with the audience in such a really special way. And even if you watch it virtually, we just knowing that so many people are so excited to get to know everyone and to get to share these stories and experiences, it’s this wonderful bonding experience.
The Chosen season 4 is now on TheCW, watch live Sundays and streaming Mondays
