NBC Orders Native American Drama ‘Sovereign’

NBC has given a put pilot commitment to proposed drama “Sovereign,” a Native American family drama from executive producer Ava DuVernay and co-executive producer Bird Runningwater (of the Cheyenne and Mescalero Apache Tribal Nations). The logline: As the first Native American family drama developed for network television, “Sovereign” chronicles the lives, loves and loyalties of a sprawling Indigenous family struggling to control the future of their tribe against outside forces and themselves,” the official synopsis reads.

The pilot for “Sovereign” was written by Sydney Freeland (Sundance Film Festival Jury Prize winner “Drunktown’s Finest”), a member of the Navajo Nation, and Shaz Bennett (“Bosch”), from a story by DuVernay.

DuVernay’s ARRAY Filmworks will produce “Sovereign” in association with Warner Bros. Television, where the filmmaker has an overall deal. Freeland and Bennett are executive producers with DuVernay, alongside ARRAY’s Sarah Bremner and Paul Garnes who will co-executive produce with Runningwater.