NBCU’s US streamer Peacock to spotlight civil rights icon Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks pictured in 1955, with Martin Luther King Jr in the background

NBCUniversal-owned US streamer Peacock has commissioned a feature-length documentary on civil rights icon Rosa Parks.

The Rebellious Life of Mrs Rosa Parks is being produced by Soledad O’Brien’s SO’B Productions and will premiere in 2022.

The doc comes from directors Yoruba Richen (The Green Book: Guide to Freedom) and Johanna Hamilton (1971) and journalist and Emmy-winning exec producer O’Brien.

It tells the story of Parks and her life beyond the historic bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. The film features video footage, exclusive audio of Parks and a wide range of interview subjects including activists, celebrities and Parks’ own family.

The documentary is based on the New York Times bestselling biography The Rebellious Life of Mrs Rosa Parks by Jeanne Theoharis. It will premiere on Peacock next year.

Rachel Smith, exec VP of unscripted development for documentary and lifestyle at NBC Universal streaming and cable, said: “This powerful film examines Rosa Parks’ life through a new lens and debunks many common myths. Get ready to see Rosa Parks like you’ve never seen her before.”

In a joint statement, Richen and Hamilton added: “It’s rare to get beneath the surface of a celebrated American icon and find something even more impressive behind it. It is a story that elevates the work of the women who were the heartbeat of the civil rights struggle and has far greater lessons on how we might work for social justice today.”