“It was vitally important to me that this wasn’t another autobiographical series about a famous person as a child,” said DuVernay.
Netflix has released the official trailer for Colin in Black & White the Ava DuVernay and Colin Kaepernick created series based on the athlete’s life story. The official synopsis describes “a bold new dramatic limited series that chronicles Kaepernick’s coming of age story, tackling the obstacles of race, class, and culture as the Black adopted child of a white family.”
The six-episode series is executive produced by Kaepernick and DuVernay and Michael Starrbury. DuVernay directed episode 101 and all of the present-day Colin Kaepernick scenes, with Sheldon Candis as director for episode 102, Robert Townsend on episodes 103 and 104, Angel Kristi Williams on episode 105, and Kenny Leon on episode 106.
Jaden Michael, Mary-Louise Parker, Nick Offerman, Colin Kaepernick, Amarr M. Wooten, Mace Coronel, Klarke Pipkin are all stars of the project.
“Colin in Black and White is a scripted limited series inspired by my experience as a Black child, adopted by a white family. I did not have a lot of references or guides growing up to help me navigate some of the negative experiences or interactions I went through as a young Black kid,” said the former NFL quarterback in a press release. “When we were thinking about telling this story, we wanted to explore that idea more and give people references of how these situations can impact and shape one’s identity and growth.”
He added, “This was an opportunity to open a window into experiences inspired by my high school years. I want Black and Brown kids and their communities to find guidance in how we can combat racism and oppressive systems. I hope someone can see that they too can come out on the other side and be able to say, “I faced those struggles. I’ve worked through them, and I was able to be successful and come out the other end, keeping my dignity and my identity intact.”
“Colin called me and shared that he wanted to tell the story of his childhood somehow. What interested me was the idea that, through his story, I could shed light on a core belief that I hold: that we can all be the hero, the lead character, of our own lives,” said DuVernay on creating the series.
“It was vitally important to me that this wasn’t another autobiographical series about a famous person as a child. No disrespect to those shows, but it’s been done – and done well,” the acclaimed filmmaker added. “I was interested in pushing a bit further into this storytelling trope. It was about challenging the process to determine how we could expand the core of a young person’s path to power into a story that can appeal widely and personally to others.”
The series will debut on Netflix on October 29, 2021, at 12 a.m. PT. Watch the official trailer for Colin in Black & White above and check out some stills from the series below:
