Picture: Sidestilt Films
Netflix is set to become the streaming home of the recently released doc Butterfly in the Sky, which was recently showcased at select theaters in March and April 2024.
Rewinding the clock, the documentary takes you back to the 1980s and retraces the origin and legacy of the famous PBS children’s series Reading Rainbow.
First appearing at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2023, the documentary examines the struggles to get the show on air and why the series has a lasting legacy today using interviews and rare archival footage. For those unfamiliar, Reading Rainbow was a kid’s show aimed at getting kids to read. It was on the air for 26 seasons, spanning 155 episodes between 1983 before concluding its incredible run in 2006.
Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb direct, with Bryan Storkel producing. LeVar Burton himself appears throughout the documentary, along with other guests, including Whoopi Goldberg, Alisa Reyes, Kenny Black, and Dean Parisot.
Following its film festival debut, Variety reported in late February 2024 that AMC Theaters had picked up the documentary for a US theatrical run beginning March 17th before getting a VOD debut in late April.
Only Netflix in the United States is currently due to streaming the documentary, although it could come to other Netflix regions further down the line.
Butterfly in the Sky: The Story of Reading Rainbow will be released on Netflix on May 24th, 2024.
This isn’t the first time Netflix has streamed a Sidestilt Films production shortly after its theatrical release. It notably similarly carried The Pez Outlaw back in January 2023 and is still streaming.
In addition, the production company has worked on several exclusive Netflix docs, including Bitconned, which kicked off Netflix’s 2024 doc lineup on New Year’s Day. Other produced Netflix docs include Untold: Hall of Shame and The Legend of Cocaine Island.
Thomason and Whitcomb’s Window Pictures is also listed as a production company behind the doc, with prior projects including Jasper Mall, GLOW (the same story that Netflix adapted in its sadly now-canceled drama), Lost Weekend, and A Life in Waves.
The title wasn’t included in the initial lineup for Netflix US throughout May 2024, but we’ll soon include it in our comprehensive guide to all the new movies, series, documentaries, and games coming throughout the month.
Will you be checking out Butterfly in the Sky on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.
