Shadow and Act has learned that Netflix has officially announced Colin in Black & White, an upcoming scripted limited series about the high school years of Colin Kaepernick from Ava DuVernay. News about a Kaepernick project from the filmmaker first surfaced in 2018 via a Vanity Fair profile on several television showrunners, including DuVernay. At the time the project was described as a comedy series but it was developed into a dramatic limited series.

The six-episode series will “focus on Kaepernick’s formative high school years, lending meaningful insight into the acts and experiences that led him to become the activist he is today.”  It will provide “an introspective look at Kaepernick’s early life as a Black child growing up with a white adopted family and his journey to become a great quarterback while defining his identity. Michael Starrbury will be the writer and executive produce the series, alongside DuVernay and Kaepernick. The football star and activist will appear as himself in some capacity in the series and also narrate it.

“Too often we see race and Black stories portrayed through a white lens,” said Kaepernick in a statement received by S&A. “We seek to give new perspective to the differing realities that Black people face. We explore the racial conflicts I faced as an adopted Black man in a white community, during my high school years. It’s an honor to bring these stories to life in collaboration with Ava for the world to see.”

“With his act of protest, Colin Kaepernick ignited a national conversation about race and justice with far-reaching consequences for football, culture and for him, personally,” said DuVernay. “Colin’s story has much to say about identity, sports and the enduring spirit of protest and resilience. I couldn’t be happier than to tell this story with the team at Netflix.”

“We’re proud to bring Colin’s experience and his creative vision to life as he joins Ava to share his powerful story and message with all our members around the world,” said Cindy Holland, Vice President, Original Content for Netflix. “It is an unparalleled union of two strong and defining voices coming together to tell the story about what it’s like to be Black in America.”

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