‘Dear…’ Team On How Series Profiles Icons And The People Who Send Them Heartfelt Letters – Contenders TV Docs + Unscripted

deadline.com:

The world has come to recognize the supreme talent of Viola Davis, the Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress. But she had to overcome huge obstacles to achieve her success, growing up poor in Central Falls, Rhode Island.The enormity of those obstacles becomes strikingly clear in an episode of the Apple TV+ documentary series Dear… that’s devoted to Davis.

Now in its second season, the show profiles a different entertainer, activist or athlete in each installment, built around letters written to the trailblazers by members of the public inspired by their example.Contenders TV Docs + Unscripted — Deadline’s Complete CoverageAlong with Davis, among the subjects in Season 2 are actors Jane Fonda, Sandra Oh and Billy Porter; filmmaker Ava DuVernay; and NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Choosing the icons is a key part of the process, showrunner and executive producer Donny Jackson explained as he appeared at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted event.“It’s a collaboration between the production company and executives at Apple TV+, and we look at a vast range of individuals who’ve had some kind of impact on world culture,” Jackson said. “At some point we had a list of 170 names to go through, and ideally, we’ll get to all of them in seasons to come.”The letter writers come from all walks of life.

Finding these authors is the work of producers on the Dear…team.“[They] comb social media,” Jackson explained. “They look at articles, they maybe even tap some of their friends to see if they know someone who knows someone, etc., in terms of those degrees of separation.