HBO lines up Raw docuseries about Free Willy’s orca star Keiko after movie fame

Warner Bros Discovery-owned HBO has ordered a multi-part docuseries about killer whale Keiko, who appeared in the 1993 feature film Free Willy.

The doc miniseries will follow Keiko’s life after his appearance in Free Willy

Produced by HBO Documentary Films and All3Media-backed UK prodco Raw, the project will premiere on HBO in the US and will also be available on streamer HBO Max.

The as-yet-untitled doc will follow Keiko, a captive male orca, as he is “propelled into an extraordinary yet controversial journey that spanned across Mexico, the US, Iceland and Norway” in the years after appearing in Free Willy.

The project will combine exclusive access to never-before-seen archives and interviews with those who worked with Keiko, to tell of the major international efforts to return him to his home waters in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Becky Read (’Twas the Fight Before Christmas, The Greatest Night in Pop) is directing, with Maria Drovnenkova producing and Dimitri Doganis and Tom Sheahan executive producing.

Raw is behind a number of recent successful doc miniseries including Don’t Fck With Cats, Tinder Swindler and Three Identical Strangers.