MTV Entertainment Studios Teams with Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance on Slavery Project

Angela Bassett
(Image credit: MTV Entertainment)

Courtney B. Vance

Courtney B. Vance (Image credit: MTV Entertainment)

MTV Entertainment Studios will partner with Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance to develop a docuseries on the history of slavery.

The four-part series, One Thousand Years of Slavery, will air on the Smithsonian Channel and will examine how slavery stained the past, shaped the present, and continues to rewrite our future through powerful stories of notable individuals courageously sharing their deeply personal Black experiences, the network said.

The Bassett Vance Productions-produced series, which will air in 2022, will feature interviews and comments from such distinguished leaders as Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and actor David Harewood, according to MTV.

“We are honored to partner with Bassett Vance Productions on this long overdue landmark documentary series that reveals the untold story of human bondage on a global scale,” said Nina L. Diaz, president of content and chief creative officer at MTV Entertainment Group and for unscripted and adult animation at Paramount Plus.

In May MTV, Bassett and Vance announced the development of a limited series based on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.