INSP Announces New Cowboy Docudrama "Freedom on the Range"

My friends at INSP e-mailed this latest news to share with all of you...


PRESS RELEASE VIA INSP:

INSP TEAMS WITH AL ROKER ENTERTAINMENT

ON SPECIAL TO CELEBRATE

THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF

AFRICAN AMERICAN COWBOYS

The Historical Docudrama Freedom on the Range

Will Debut on Saturday, February 26th at 8PM ET

(Indian Land, SC – January 27, 2022) General Entertainment network INSP, the recognized leader in Western and Western adjacent programming, today announced the premiere date for its new special featuring the contributions of African American Cowboys to the American West.

Freedom on the Range is an original INSP docudrama produced by Al Roker Entertainment, and is set to premiere on INSP on Saturday, February 26th at 8PM ET. The announcement was made by Craig Miller, VP of Original Programming & Development for INSP.

“The significant contributions of African American cowboys in the shaping of America have largely gone unnoticed,” said Miller. “In Freedom on the Range, we pay tribute to these unsung groundbreakers by telling the true stories of some of the most courageous trailblazers that helped tame the American West. While these are not household names to most of us, their stories are fascinating and need to be told as part of our nation’s history. This is a show that audiences don’t want to miss.”

A celebration of the frontier spirit, Freedom on the Range is a one-hour special that highlights five legendary Black cowboys who helped tame the Old West: Nat Love, Bose Ikard, Bass Reeves, Bill Pickett, and George McJunkin. These men made their way to the Western Frontier and discovered a new sense of freedom that allowed them to rise above the legacy of slavery and transcend the color barriers of their time. Nat Love penned a best-selling autobiography, and Bose Ikard became the inspiration for a beloved character in a famous Western novel. Bass Reeves transformed himself into one of the West’s greatest lawmen, Bill Pickett became an iconic rodeo star, and George McJunkin made what turned out to be one of the country’s most significant archeological discoveries. These heroes continue to inspire a new generation of Black cowboys who are keeping that frontier spirit alive and well.

Miller continued: “It’s been a pleasure working with Al Roker’s team on this project. They really dug into the material, researched this little-known part or our nation’s history, and made sure the stories were told with accuracy, authenticity, and impact.”

"I grew up in an era when westerns ruled TV; Bonanza and Gunsmoke were must-watch TV, and then later, films like Buck and the Preacher, with the late Sidney Poitier," noted Roker. "Since then, I've been captivated by the role African Americans played in shaping this country, post-Civil War. When I was approached to have my team at Al Roker Entertainment tell the true stories of America's black cowboys, I jumped at the opportunity to set the record straight and give accurate historical context to these courageous pioneers."

Freedom on the Range premieres Saturday, February 26th at 8PM ET on INSP.

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About INSP

INSP is available nationwide to more than 62M households via MVPDs including DISH (channel 259), DIRECTV (channel 364), Comcast Xfinity, Cox Communications, Charter Spectrum, National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC), Verizon Fios (channel 286), AT&T U-verse (channel 564) and on vMVPDs including SLING TV, fuboTV, Philo, Frndly TV, Vidgo, SelectTV and Evoca. Click here to find INSP in your area. INSP provides a trusted viewing experience with a lineup of exclusive and original series, timeless Westerns, action-filled dramas, and films focused on adventure and heroic characters.

About Al Roker Entertainment

Al Roker Entertainment (ARE) is an industry-leading producer of original, award-winning TV programs, digital content, branded entertainment, and an in-demand production company offering an array of creative services. ARE partners with producers, directors, writers, and media innovators, to produce content for distribution across platforms around the world, including broadcast, cable, digital, OTT, social, podcast, immersive, and streaming technologies.

INSP Sets Premiere Date for New Series "Into the Wild Frontier"

PRESS RELEASE VIA INSP:

INSP Sets Premiere Date for New Series

“Into the Wild Frontier”

The Latest Original Expedition 

and Exploration Docudrama will Debut on

Thursday, February 17th at 8PM ET

(Indian Land, SC – January 13, 2022) – General entertainment network INSP announced that it will premiere its latest historical docudrama series Into the Wild Frontier on Thursday, February 17th at 8PM ET. Doug Butts, EVP of Programming for INSP, made the announcement.

“As our ratings demonstrate, INSP viewers love action, adventure and exploration,” explained Butts. “Consequently, we’ve made it a priority to produce compelling original content that both entertains and informs. Into the Wild Frontier is a great example of that type of multi-dimensional programming. The series features riveting stories from some of America’s first pioneers – most of whom braved incredible dangers and extremely harsh conditions while exploring America’s Western frontier. Each episode combines substantial research with carefully crafted storytelling, and the result is an action-packed drama that we are confident our audiences will enjoy.”

With America’s expansion westward, the promise of new lands teeming with game and other riches provided an irresistible pull for frontiersmen like Daniel Boone, Jim Bridger, John Colter and others who were willing to risk it all in the spirit of adventure. As they push deeper into the wilderness, crossing vast mountain ranges, treacherous plains and unforgiving deserts, these fearless explorers faced starvation, deadly weather, ferocious predators and hostile Native Americans. These were true adventurers, whose epic tales of survival on America’s undeveloped frontier emboldened a tide of settlers to head west and become the stuff of myths and legends.

In addition to Boone, Bridger and Colter, the explorers and mountain men featured in season 1 of Into the Wild Frontier include Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (Lewis & Clark), Jedediah Smith, Tom Fitzpatrick, Jim Beckwourth, and Kit Carson.

The first season of Into the Wild Frontier, which will be comprised of eight episodes, will premiere on INSP on Thursday, February 17th at 8PM ET.
The series is produced for INSP by Warm Springs Productions.

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About INSP

INSP is available nationwide to more than 62M households via MVPDs including DISH (channel 259), DIRECTV (channel 364), Comcast Xfinity, Charter Spectrum, National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC), Verizon Fios (channel 286), AT&T U-verse (channel 564) and on vMVPDs including SLING TV, fuboTV, Philo, Frndly TV, Vidgo, SelectTV and Evoca. Click here to find INSP in your area. INSP provides a trusted viewing experience with a lineup of exclusive and original series, timeless Westerns, action-filled dramas, and films focused on adventure and heroic characters.

About Warm Springs Productions

Warm Springs Productions has produced over 40 different television series for 12 cable and streaming networks including the breakout hit on History, Mountain Men, Legends and Lies on Fox, Log Cabin Living , Beach Hunters and Island Hunters on HGTV, Louisiana Law on Animal Planet and many more. The Warm Springs Productions staff numbers over 100 located in offices in Missoula and Manhattan, Montana.

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My Take:

Although this is a docudrama and not the usual rom-com movie I typically promote, I thought many of you who visit here would be interested in checking out this series, especially those of you who are history buffs. It is fascinating to discover more in depth details on those individuals who developed the foundation of our American society, ordinary citizens who made their mark with their explorations and unique adventures.

In addition to this new series, Into the Wild Frontier, this year on INSP viewers can also look forward to the 2nd season of Wild West Chronicles and the 3rd season of the cowboy competition series, Ultimate Cowboy Showdown, hosted by country music icon Trace Adkins.

INSP recently rolled out a brand new logo (seen above), which features a strong text and a cowboy hat sitting proudly on top, clearly stating INSP is the leader in western entertainment.

Hope many of you will enjoy this new weekly series when it premieres in February.

Happy trails to you! Net

Wild West Chronicles to Premiere on INSP this Spring...

Press Release via INSP:

INSP Sets Premiere Date

for Historical Docudrama Series

Wild West Chronicles

Inspired by the true tales of famous characters and unsung heroes of the American West, the series will make its exclusive television debut on Sunday, April 11th at 5:30PM ET.

(Indian Land, SC – February 24, 2021) General-entertainment network INSP, the leader in Western & Western-adjacent programming, has set the premiere date for Wild West Chronicles. The unique historical docudrama series, based on true stories of the old west, will premiere on Sunday, April 11th at 5:30PM ET. Craig Miller, VP of Original Unscripted Programming and Development for INSP, made the announcement.

Wild West Chronicles is a unique twist on the historical docudrama,” said Miller. “We didn’t want to do a typical docudrama with a bunch of talking-head experts, so we built a concept around a newspaper reporter who travels the frontier during the late 1800s to uncover the truth behind the wildest tales of the West. As he chases down stories, viewers meet notorious criminals, courageous lawmen, and everyday heroes of the Old West. With a diverse group of characters featured in the series, there is sure to be someone there for everyone to love or loathe, or both.”

The anthology series follows the legendary Bat Masterson, once a formidable gunslinger and lawman, after he trades his sheriff’s badge for a pen and becomes a newspaper reporter. In each episode, Masterson tracks down eyewitnesses who share their vivid memories of Wild Bill Hickok, Stagecoach Mary, Butch Cassidy, Bass Reeves, and other remarkable characters of the Old West. As they tell their stories, a bygone age of hardship and lawlessness is brought to life when fearless lawmen rode tall in the saddle and vicious criminals fought to escape justice.

The 15 episodes of Wild West Chronicles will air on INSP starting on Sunday, April 11th at 5:30PM ET

About INSP:

INSP is available nationwide to more than 70M households via Dish Network (channel 259), DirecTV (channel 364), Verizon FiOS (channel 286), AT&T U-verse (channel 564) and more than 2,800 cable systems. Click here to find INSP in your area. INSP provides a trusted viewing experience with a lineup of exclusive and original series, timeless Westerns, action-filled dramas, and films focused on adventure and heroic characters.

About MorningStar Entertainment:

Gary Tarpinian and Paninee Theeranuntawat created MorningStar Entertainment with the goal of producing high-quality Television Programing. Over the past 20 years, this Emmy Award winning Production Company has produced hundreds of hours of great Television Series and Specials for such esteemed US networks as Discovery, National Geographic, History, The CW Network, PBS, A&E, TLC, Lifetime, Travel, ESPN, Discovery Science, and many others. They have also worked with or had their programs air on such respected international networks as Channel 5 UK, RTL Germany, RAI-Italy, France 5, Antena 3 – Spain, the Australian Broadcasting Company and many others. Among MorningStar’s best known programs include the hit series I Survived!, Deadliest Warrior, Manhunters: Fugitive Task Force and Mysteries Decoded.

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Even though this is not a new movie, I thought many of you would be interested in this show - based on our love of When Calls the Heart and other period dramas.

INSP is a wonderful channel that shows family programming, like The Waltons and classic westerns, like Bonanza. It sounds like the Wild West Chronicles will be a fascinating series about the history of the old west.

Hope you enjoy it!

Blessings, Net