NBC Orders Ava DuVernay’s Unscripted Series ‘Home Sweet Home’

Ava DuVernay NBC
Adam Burrell; NBCUniversal

NBC has ordered an unscripted series from Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay.

Home Sweet Home is described as a family social experiment taking place over 10 episodes. The show will tap two families who lead vastly different lives to participate in a life-changing cultural experiment.

Asking the participants to learn what it’s like to “walk a mile in another person’s shoes,” the show forces them to address racial, religious, economic, geographic, gender and identity assumptions as the families exchange homes for a week and experience a life wholly different from their day-to-day.

“We are honored to partner with Ava for the first time to bring Home Sweet Home to life at NBC,” said Meredith Ahr, President, Alternative and Reality Group, NBC Entertainment. “Led by Ava’s powerful and hopeful creative vision, these stories will reveal genuine moments of change that we hope will spark thought-provoking conversations and encourage compassion, empathy and understanding.”

When They See Us

DuVernay’s When They See Us (Credit: Netflix)

DuVernay’s projects include the critically-acclaimed limited series When They See Us, the Oscar-nominated film Selma and the documentary 13TH, among others. She also created OWN’s Queen Sugar, which is currently in its fifth season.

“The idea for Home Sweet Home came to me during the strange and important times we’re all experiencing. The premise is that we are farther apart than ever, yet bound by what we have in common — concerns with health, safety, justice and community,” said DuVernay.

“These notions manifest in each of us in different ways, but nowhere more striking than in the privacy of our own homes,” she continued. “I’m thrilled that NBC and Warner Horizon embraced the challenge of this moment to celebrate the specificity of our differences as we discover the many beautiful things that we have in common.”

The series is produced by Warner Horizon Unscripted Television in association with ARRAY Filmworks. DuVernay will serve as executive producer alongside Sarah Bremner and Paul Garnes.