LeVar Burton Reflects on ‘Reading Rainbow’ Journey in ‘Butterfly in the Sky’ Documentary Trailer

Ryan Gajewski
·2 min read
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LeVar Burton celebrates his television series Reading Rainbow in the trailer for the forthcoming documentary feature Butterfly in the Sky.

Butterfly in the Sky tells the story of Reading Rainbow, the educational show promoting literacy that Burton hosted for 23 seasons. The program first aired on PBS and later on PBS Kids before signing off in November of 2006, collecting a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards throughout the course of its run.

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The movie from co-directors Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb is set for a limited theatrical release March 17 from AMC Theatres. A full run follows later in New York City and other destinations, overseen by Mia Bruno of Fourth Act Film. It will be available on digital platforms including iTunes and Amazon on April 30, with Roco Films making the film available that month for classrooms, educators and libraries.

Burton is among the insiders participating in exclusive interviews for the project. “I did everything they asked — I mean, everything,” the host says in the trailer. “I became very adamant that, since they had hired me, what they got was me.”

Also sharing perspective in the film is Whoopi Goldberg, who appeared in a 1993 episode of the series. “Reading Rainbow wanted children to know there’s all kinds of stories out there,” Goldberg says in the footage. “And while it may not be stories from your neighborhood, it’s stories from a neighborhood you should know about.”

Thomason, Whitcomb and Bryan Storkel serve as producers for the film.

Butterfly in the Sky premiered at the Tribeca Festival in 2022. In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, chief television critic Daniel Fienberg wrote, “It’s surely not without emotionally satisfying moments and it does a persuasive job of emphasizing the importance of Reading Rainbow and of star LeVar Burton, but the documentary is slight in its artistic and thematic ambition.”

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