Photo by Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press
News of the the Flint water crisis splashed across our television screens back in April of 2014. Now, details of the ongoing crisis are making their way back in the form of a docudrama.
The Lifetime network is planning to produce a made-for-TV movie recounting the events that led to the city’s toxic water supply and the poisoning of its residents.
The film will be developed by duo Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who collaborated on the wildly successful live productions of “The Wiz” and “The Sound of Music” for NBC. They also had a hand in producing the 2012 Lifetime remake of “Steel Magnolias” starring Queen Latifah and Phylicia Rashad.
The movie, appropriately titled “Flint,” was inspired by Time Magazine‘s February cover story, “The Poisoning of An American City.” Production of the docudrama has been expedited, but neither shooting locations nor a premiere date have been set. As investigations into the water crisis are still ongoing, many are curious to know how the Lifetime adaptation will end.
Although Lifetime isn’t known for its serious narratives, this isn’t the first time the network has looked to major news headlines for inspiration. The network has produced movies such as “Prosecuting Casey Anthony,” which chronicles the trial of the accused killer, and “The Pregnancy Pact,” a story about a group of high school girls in Gloucester, Massachusetts who agreed to get pregnant at the same time.
The 200,000-plus residents of Flint have not had access to clean drinking water since 2014. The water became contaminated after the city chose to opt out of the Detroit water supply and instead draw water from the Flint river. Since then, cases of lead poisoning and Legionnaires’ disease have skyrocketed in the community. Residents have taken action, however, and filed multiple lawsuits against city and government officials.
A hearing held by a subcommittee of The House Committee on Energy and Commerce will take place Wednesday to further investigate the Flint water issue and what can be learned from the public health crisis.
