Netflix’s limited series about former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has cast his parents. According to Deadline, Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds, The Sound Inside) and Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation, DEVS) will portray Kaepernick’s parents in Colin In Black and White. Created by Kaepernick and Ava DuVernay (A Wrinkle in Time, 13th), the series will examine Kaepernick’s formative years as a Black teen adopted by a white family.
According to Deadline, Parker and Offerman will be Teresa and Rick Kaepernick. They join Vampires vs. Brooklyn star Jaden Michael, who was cast as Colin. Narrated by the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, the show follows young Colin as he grows up in a family and community that does not look like him. He and his parents both will have to reckon with the pending adversity. It will also examine how this experience planted roots that would lead the star athlete to becoming a premiere activist.
Kaepernick’s football career took a backseat to his activism beginning in 2016, when he publicly protested to bring awareness to police brutality and injustice against Black people in America. Opting to kneel during the National Anthem at football games, Kaepernick became a hero to some and an enemy to others. Injuries sidelined Kaepernick and he was eventually released from the 49ers. Now healthy and seeking an opportunity to return to the NFL, he remains unemployed. Many alleged the talented athlete and Super Bowl runner-up had been blacklisted from the NFL because of his political views.
Since leaving the NFL, Kaepernick has focused most of his efforts in educating Black communities and youth about their civil rights, especially when it comes to encounters with law enforcement. Kaepernick earned an endorsement from Nike appearing in their “Dream Crazy” ad campaign in 2018. In the following, the campaign coveted the athletic apparel company’s first Emmy win since 2002.
According to Deadline, both Kaepernick and DuVernay will executive produce along with writer Michael Starrbury (The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, Legends of Chamberlain Heights). Starrbury will write all six episodes.