Yahoo Finance HIV Doc ‘Right to Try,’ Produced by Octavia Spencer, Acquired by Peacock to Premiere on World AIDS Day
Peacock has acquired “Right to Try,” the Octavia Spencer-produced documentary short about trying to find a cure for HIV.
Directed by “The Late Late Show With James Corden” producer Zeberiah Newman, the film tells the story of veteran casting director Jeffrey Drew’s participation in an experimental treatment trial to cure him of his HIV. Variety was the first to report about the doc in June shortly after CAA’s Travis Tammero came on board to shop it around.
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Peacock will premiere “Right to Try” tomorrow, Dec. 1, on World AIDS Day.
“We are thrilled our film ‘Right to Try’ will be seen on Peacock. Though Jeffrey Drew’s heroic journey is singular, his story is universal,” Spencer said in a statement. “This is an important film and with Peacock we have a wonderful partner to bring it to our audience.”
The producing team also includes Brian Clisham and Stephanie Kluft of Spencer’s Orit Entertainment and Andrew Carlberg.
“It is an honor to share Drew’s story with Peacock users and raise awareness around the important issue of HIV research,” said Val Boreland, EVP of content acquisitions at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “We know the impact of this documentary will be far-reaching.”
In an exclusive interview with Variety in June, Drew said, “There are people who are still getting infected and sick and dying. I would love to see a generation that doesn’t have to think or worry about this anymore.”
Newman said at the time, “As a gay man, I feel motivated to get Jeffrey’s story out there. He is an undiscovered hero who people in our community really need to know about.”
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