Kevin Costner to Develop Indigenous History Docuseries ‘Onward’ With 44 Blue Productions (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comSelome Hailu Kevin Costner and 44 Blue Productions have partnered to develop “Onward,” an anthology docuseries about traditions and rituals in Indigenous communities around the world, Variety has learned exclusively.Each episode of “Onward” focuses on a specific Indigenous community and how their people, land and cultures have endured existential threats such as climate change, commercial development and the pandemic.The concept for “Onward” is based on Cale Glendening’s documentary short of the same name, which chronicled his time embedded with Kazakh-Mongolia eagle hunters in the remote Altai Mountains of Mongolia.
Glendening writes and directs the series, as well as executive produces alongside Costner, Monitor & Merrimack Pictures’ Glenn Kleczkowski and Mark Gillard.
Stephanie Noonan Drachkovitch executive produces for 44 Blue, a Red Arrow Studios company. Smriti Mundhra, founder of Meralta Films and creator of “Indian Matchmaking,” will serve as showrunner. “We hope ‘Onward’ will be an intimate portrait of family and community life that celebrates the diversity of cultures — many of them at risk of extinction — across the world,” said Stephanie Noonan Drachkovitch, co-founder and co-CEO of 44 Blue.“I’m excited by the opportunity to explore the themes of family, sustainability, culture and community through a global Indigenous lens,” said Mundhra. “Especially in partnership with storytellers who are most closely connected to those worlds.”“‘Onward’ is not only a preservation project, but also a celebration of culture,” added Glendening.
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