TORONTO – Corus Entertainment’s History and Hungry Eyes Media Group announced today the docuseries BLK: An Origin Story will premiere on History on Feb. 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. It will also be available to be streamed on STACK TV and the Global TV app.
BLK: An Origin Story is a four-part limited series that “reveals the deep historic impact of black presence in Canada,” a press release says.
The docuseries “is steeped in riveting, enduring, and multi-faceted historical Black Canadian narratives. Each episode transports viewers to a different Canadian location, and provides chronologically significant insights into the consequences of Black presence in the areas,” the press release reads.
“Featured outposts include Nova Scotia, Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec. The series also highlights the legacy of Black contributions to the larger story of Canada itself, dating back to when explorer Mathieu de Costa first set foot on shore, more than 400 years ago. BLK: An Origin Story acts as an immersive and informative chapter of Black Canadian history, elevating remarkable Black Canadians previously unacknowledged in mainstream social, academic, and cultural circles, normalizing their unique stories as a matter of general record.”
The docuseries is executive produced by Jen Holness and Sudz Sutherland and is produced by Hungry Eyes Media in association with Corus Studios for History.
The four, 60-minute episodes include archival material, footage and art. They also feature interviews from experts of Black Canadian lore, facts and pedagogy, including George Elliot Clarke, Lawrence Hill, Charmaine Nelson, El Jones, May Q Wong, Stephanie Allen and others.
“It is a crucial time in our country’s history to reflect on and share the important Black narratives that influenced our nation,” said Lisa Godfrey, senior vice-president of original content and Corus Studios. “We are proud to partner with the talented storytellers at Hungry Eyes Media who have developed this must-see and influential docu-series.”
“As Canadian creatives, BLK: An Origin Story embodies our professional mission to champion fresh, and authentic perspectives toward storytelling. We crossed the country and spoke, listened, and learned. The result is four hours of programming that resets the understanding of Black history in Canada. It was important for us to deliver the series as a comprehensive, multi-layered, multi-disciplinary and essential Canadian journey,” said Holness.
“We are grateful to the stalwarts, knowledge keepers, and storytellers from Black Canadian communities and locations from Vancouver to Halifax, with Owen Sound, Amherstburg, Windsor and Montreal as points in between. They’ve shared the immense generational experiences and events documented in each episode. We view history, and Black contribution to Canadian history as a defining part of Canada’s overall identity, from both an inward and outward gaze.”
For more, please click here. To watch the trailer, please click here.
Image supplied by Corus.
