NBC has given a put pilot commitment to drama Sovereign, from Emmy winner Ava DuVernay and Bird Runningwater. The project, written by Sydney Freeland (Drunktown’s Finest) and Shaz Bennett (Bosch) from a story by DuVernay, marks the first Native American family drama developed for network television.

Sovereign chronicles the lives, loves and loyalties of a sprawling Indigenous family struggling to control the future of their tribe against outside forces and themselves.

The drama is produced by DuVernay’s ARRAY Filmworks in association with Warner Bros. Television. Freeland and Bennett will executive produce with DuVernay. ARRAY’s Sarah Bremner and Paul Garnes will co-executive produce with Runningwater.

Through her Warner Bros. Television Group overall deal, DuVernay is currently executive producing the fifth season of her OWN/Warner Bros. TV drama series Queen Sugar and Cherish the Day, as well as the upcoming NBC family social experiment reality series Home Sweet Home and the HBO Max docuseries One Perfect Shot, both from Warner Horizon Unscripted TV. Separately from her WBTVG deal, DuVernay is executive producing the upcoming Netflix limited series Colin in Black & White, about the life of all-star athlete/activist Colin Kaepernick. She previously helmed the acclaimed Netflix miniseries When They See Us, feature Selma, and Oscar-nominated/Emmy-winning documentary 13th, among others.