The Hallmark Channel has created a film adaptation of the novel “the Watsons Go to Birmingham”, which will come to television screens this fall, as announced by the Huffington Post.
The novel written by Paul Curtis takes on real historical events surrounding the civil rights movement in the early 1960s, most notably the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. The film will star actors Anika Noni Rose, David Alan Grier, LaTanya Richardson and Wood Harris as a family originally from Michigan set out on a road trip to Birmingham, Alabama, reported the Huffington Post.
The television film will be produced by Tonya Lewis Lee and directed by Kenny Leon. Lee said in a featurette for the project, “I decided that I wanted to work on ‘The Watsons Go to Birmingham’ as soon as I read the book…I felt like I had an understanding of the characters and I thought I could really help bring it to life,” quoted the Huffington Post.
Actor Bryce Clyde Jenkins announced his attraction to the story as well, saying, “The thing that I like most about this story is it’s a real historical event…And this allows people to get a perspective of what people went through so people like me can be where they are now. And it’s a real life changing lesson. It makes you feel grateful for what you have,” also quoted by the Huffington Post.
“The Watsons Go to Birmingham”will premiere on the Hallmark Channel on September 20 at 8 p.m.