Academy Award nominee Ava DuVernay will partner with Bird Runningwater to develop Sovereign, the first Native American family drama for NBC.
Written by Sydney Freeland and Shaz Bennett, the series follows the lives of an Indigenous family looking maintain control of their tribe while battling themselves as well as outside forces. Freeland and Bennett will also executive produce the series alongside DuVernay and Runningwater. Also, DuVernay’s ARRAY will helm the project alongside Warner Bros. Television.
Sovereign is the latest television product from DuVernay. She currently works on shows like Queen Sugar and Cherish The Day. In the near future, she will Home Sweet Home on NBC and an unscripted project about Colin Kaepernick on Netflix.
Runningwater has remained equally as busy. In his 25 year career, he has helped launched the careers of more than 100 Indigenous filmmakers across the globe. However, this is his first time working with NBC.
There is no word on when the series will hit the small screen.
