PBS Distribution has acquired Little Bird for the U.S. and has slated the series for an Oct. 12 premiere on PBS channels and across all PBS platforms.

Produced by Rezolution Pictures and OP Little Bird in association with Crave and APTN lumi, in partnership with Fremantle, the six-part limited series explores themes of resilience in the face of trauma and loss.

The series stars Darla Contois as an Indigenous woman who embarks on a path to find her birth family and uncover the hidden truth of her family history, which is connected to the Sixties Scoop. The series also stars Ellyn Jade, Osawa Muskwa, Joshua Odjick, Imajyn Cardinal, Braeden Clarke, Eric Schweig, Michelle Thrush and Lisa Edelstein (House, M.D.).

The series was developed by showrunner Podemski and Rezolution Pictures, and created by Podemski and head writer Hannah Moscovitch. The creative team includes directors Zoe Hopkins and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and was written by Hopkins and Moscovitch.

Executive producers are Christina Fon, Ernest Webb, Catherine Bainbridge, Linda Ludwick (Rezolution Pictures), Kim Todd, Nicholas Hirst (Original Pictures), Podemski, Moscovitch, Hopkins, Tailfeathers and Jeremy Podeswa, along with Christian Vesper and Dante Di Loreto (Fremantle). The producers are Tanya Brunel and Jessica Dunn (OP Little Bird), Claire MacKinnon and Philippe Chabot (Rezolution Pictures) and Lori Lozinski and Ellen Rutter. Fremantle handles global sales.

PBS will also broadcast and stream Coming Home, a 90-minute companion documentary that provides historical context about the Sixties Scoop and will debut it on Oct. 12 following the first episode of Little Bird. Directed by Erica Daniels (Run as One), the doc explores the connections between the movement for Indigenous narrative sovereignty and the impact of the child welfare system as experienced through the series’ Indigenous creatives, crew, and Sixties Scoop advisors.

Little Bird won the Audience Award at the 2023 Series Mania Festival in Lille, France, and showrunner Jennifer Podemski was presented with an Academy Board Of Directors’ Tribute Award at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards earlier this year.

Maria Bruno Ruiz, VP, program content strategy and scheduling at PBS, described the series as “a very powerful story that not only engages and pulls on your heartstrings, but also educates on a time in history that is rarely portrayed,” in a statement on the acquisition.

“We aspire to bring programs rich in culture and diversity to our audience and we’re thrilled to add the inspiring Little Bird story to our platforms,” added Germaine Sweet, managing director, content acquisitions at PBS Distribution. “In addition to the creative brilliance of Jennifer Podemski and Hannah Moscovitch, this series showcases an important time in North American history to learn from and profoundly remember.”

Image courtesy of Bell Media