Paramount+ Greenlights Grassroots Activism Doc The Changemakers As Part Of – Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount+ has greenlit a docuseries titled The Changemakers (working title), featuring the stories of eight ordinary people fighting for a better world.

Airing next year, the eight-episode show will feature a different storyline per ep focusing on grassroots activists facing challenges across the globe.

Stories will range from Black mothers in the U.S. fighting the effects of systemic racism to Indigenous people in Ecuador protecting their land from deforestation.

The show is part of Paramount’s Content for Change initiative, which aims to counteract racism, bias, stereotypes and hate on and off-screen through three pillars, one of which is focused on systemically transforming the creative supply chain.  Other shows to emerge from the initiative include a suite of programs from The Underground Railroad star Thuso Mbedu.

Paramount is producing Changemakers in partnership with Proper Content, the UK-based indie behind the likes of Channel 4/Hulu’s BAFTA-winning The School that Tried to End Racism and Paramount-owned Channel 5 doc Suicide: In Our Own Words.

Marco Nobili, Paramount+ EVP and International General Manager, said the show “tells a compelling and meaningful story on a global scale,” adding: “With our service streaming in multiple international markets, our changemakers’ stories will reach far beyond their local communities, leaving a lasting impact around the world.”

Proper Content Creative Director David DeHaney added: “Eight epic films. Each following one community trying to change the world. Discrimination; exploitation; environmental harm: their stories are unique, but their challenges are all of our problems.”

Paramount+ has ordered a wealth of scripted projects since its high-profile launch but is also looking to the documentary space, ordering the likes of Murder of God’s Banker about Italian fugitive banker Roberto Calvi and a David Beckham-led doc on the rise of Premier League football’s billionaires.