HBO Max has greenlit a four-part
docuseries on the LGBT rights movement.
Equal will explore the true
stories of activists pre-Stonewall. Each episode will bring history
to life with re-enactments, never-before-seen footage, and
interviews.
According to Variety, the series
comes from Warner Horizon Unscripted Television.
“We are extremely proud to partner
with these groundbreaking producers on a subject this important, at a
time this critical,” said Mike Darnell, president of unscripted and
alternative television at Warner Bros. “What a perfect project to
launch Warner Horizon Unscripted Television’s new documentary
series unit.”
The series will profile LGBT rights
activist Harry Hay; The Daughters of Bilitis, a lesbian civil and
political rights organization; Christine Jorgensen, a transgender
woman who publicly transitioned in 1951; and Bayard Rustin, a
prominent LGBT and civil rights activist. The final one-hour episode
will focus on the Stonewall Riots in New York, which have been widely
credited with sparking the modern LGBT rights movement.
Executive producers on the project
include Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter of Berlanti Productions;
David Collins, Michael Williams, Rob Eric, Joel Chiodi of Scout
Productions; and Jim Parsons and his husband Todd Spiewak of That's
Wonderful Productions. Collins and Williams are best known for
creating Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Collins returned to
the makeover reality series with Queer Eye in 2018. Berlanti
directed the 2018 gay teen drama Love, Simon. Parsons (The
Big Bang Theory, The Boys in the Band) and Spiewak started their
production company in 2015.
“In June, we commemorated the 50th
anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which shepherded in a new era for
LGBTQ+ pride,” said Jennifer O’Connell, executive vice president
of original non-fiction and kids programming at HBO Max. “While we
know the story behind that fateful summer night, there’s a lot of
fascinating, untold history of the patriots, artists, and thinkers
who paved the way. It’s time to share their heroic tales, and we
could not have more perfect partners in Jim Parsons, Greg Berlanti,
Jon Jashni and Scout to introduce our HBO Max audience to these
historical trailblazers.”