Netflix has released the first look at Colin in Black & White, a biographical series about the former NFL quarterback turned activist.
The six-part coming of age series stars Jaden Michael (Wonderstruck, The Get Down) as young Colin, with Nick Offerman and Mary-Louise Parker playing his parents Rick and Teresa. The scripted drama explores Kaepernick’s upbringing in central California. Kaepernick narrates the story of his adolescence and the complexities of growing up as the adopted biracial child of white parents. He battled obstacles of race and class to become an NFL star, leading his team to within one completion of a Super Bowl championship in 2013.
But Kaepernick hasn’t taken a snap in the NFL since 2017, a year after he first sat during the national anthem before a preseason game between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers. The then-49ers QB explained that he wasn’t “going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” He later changed his method of protest at the suggestion of former NFL player and Green Beret Nate Boyer, opting instead to take a knee as a sign of respect. The move still drew the ire of fans and the then-president. Kaepernick later sued the NFL and its teams for colluding to keep him off a roster and the field. The two sides reached a settlement, the details of which are protected by a confidentiality agreement.
“Life puts us on a path, sometimes winding. But always ours,” the football star says in the trailer, later adding, “Believe in your path, and by doing that, we can become who we’re destined to be.”
Ava DuVernay (When They See Us), Michael Starrbury (When They See Us), and Kaepernick serve as co-executive producers of the limited series. Directors include DuVernay, Sheldon Candis, Robert Townsend, Angel Kristi Williams, and Kenny Leon.
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Colin in Black & White premieres Oct. 29 on Netflix.