“Yellowstone,” one of our favorite television series, recently saw renewal for the long-anticipated season five. Following the announcement, fans were, and still are, buzzing with excitement. However, in other exciting news, lead cast member Kevin Costner has just announced new plans for his own project. He most recently revealed his intentions in an exclusive, sharing plans to develop an anthology docuseries exploring indigenous communities called, “Onward.”
As “Yellowstone” fans know, the Paramount-produced series follows the struggles and successes constantly bearing down on Kevin Costner’s character John Dutton. However, even more dynamically, it puts a heavy emphasis on the struggles of indigenous populations in Montana. Lead character Monica Dutton often serves as the uniting factor between the Duttons’ struggles and the struggles of her native people.
With that in mind, Costner’s docuseries will place special focus on the traditions and rituals practiced by indigenous groups internationally.
According to Variety, Kevin Costner has partnered with 44 Blue Productions for this latest endeavor. The coupling plans to focus each episode of the “Onward” docuseries on a specific indigenous community around the world.
That said, Outsiders get to see a little bit more of the reality modern indigenous people face. Hopefully, we’ll see more of the tradition and ritual practiced by Native Americans in “Yellowstone” over on “Onward.”
Reportedly, each episode introduces viewers to the vast collection of history, rituals, and narratives present in international cultures and groups.
Further, the episodes will highlight the ways in which our shrinking world affects indigenous populations. They specifically explore the effects of growing climate change, commercial development, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic within indigenous populations. Each episode explores how the above detriments affect indigenous communities in varying ways.
Kevin Costner’s Docuseries Functions as ‘Intimate Portrait’
As per the outlet, Kevin Costner’s ‘Onward’ docuseries takes inspiration from Cale Glendening’s documentary short, which boasts the same name. In it, Glendening chronicled his time with the Kazakh-Mongolia eagle hunters in the region’s Altai Mountains.
Now, Kevin Costner, alongside Glendening and Monitor & Merrimack Pictures’ Glenn Kleczkowski and Mark Gillard, hopes to “create an intimate portrait of family and community life that celebrates the diversity of cultures–many of them at risk of extinction–across the world.”
In speaking to the project, Glendening added, “‘Onward’ is not only a preservation project, but also a celebration of culture.”
Overall, the pair hope to “create the largest visual anthology of Indigenous people in the world so we can help keep these traditions alive.”
“Onward” will also see contributions from Stephanie Noonan Drachkovitch, executive producer for 44 Blue, owned by Red Arrow Studios company. The Kevin Costner-produced series also boasts the creative input of Smriti Mundhra, founder of Meralta Films as well as the creator of “Indian Matchmaking.” As per the outlet, Mundhra is set to serve as the docuseries’ showrunner throughout “Onward’s” production.
