LeVar Burton may not have landed the gig hosting “Jeopardy!” but his greatness will soon be explored in the upcoming documentary Butterfly in the Sky. The upcoming documentary will spotlight “Reading Rainbow,” the 1980s kids television series that was hosted by Burton for 23 years. Butterfly in the Sky, will chronicle the journeys of a handful of broadcasters, educators, filmmakers, and host who believed television could inspire a lifelong love of reading.
The film is being produced by nonfiction film studio XTR and will explore “Reading Rainbow’s” long run and will feature archival footage and interviews with Burton as well as many others. Burton inspired many kids to enjoy reading when he started hosting the show in 1983 and many of those same kids are the adults who wanted him to host “Jeopardy!”
“’Reading Rainbow’ was my window into the big city and into diverse cultures. With segments like those in ‘Hill of Fire,’ ‘Liang and the Magic Paintbrush,’ and countless other episodes, ‘Reading Rainbow’ was arguably the first time I encountered ‘documentary-style’ television as a young person, planting a seed that would inspire me for the rest of my life and lead me to where I am in my career to this day” the film’s director, Brett Whitcomb, told The Hollywood Reporter.
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