Nick Offerman’s Next Role Will Prove He’s So Much More Than Ron Swanson

Parks and Recreation alum Nick Offerman will soon be seen as a parent to a young Colin Kaepernick in a new Netflix series.

By Ryan Gajewski Nov 19, 2020 10:21 PMTags
Watch: Colin Kaepernick & Ava DuVernay Team Up For Netflix Series

With Pawnee behind him, Nick Offerman is trying his hand as a football dad.

The actor, best known as lovably gruff Ron Swanson on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, has been cast as Colin Kaepernick's adoptive father in Colin in Black and White, an upcoming Netflix series about the real-life NFL quarterback and activist's formative years.

The streaming service announced on Wednesday, Nov. 18, that Offerman and Weeds alum Mary Louise-Parker will play Rick and Teresa Kaepernick, who adopted Colin as an infant. Jaden Michael, 17, portrays the teenage Colin, with the six-episode series focusing on the future star's time in high school.

The show, which counts Emmy winner Ava DuVernay as a producer, tells the story of Kaepernick growing up as a standout Black athlete in a mostly white community. Kaepernick, 33, will narrate the series and also serve as a producer.

"I am powerfully chuffed to get to work with my heroes @ava @Kaepernick7 !" Offerman tweeted in response to the casting news. "And to parent an American champion with the legendary Mary Louise Parker, no less."

 

 

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Stars Playing Real People

No release date has yet been announced, but Duvernay pointed out on Twitter on Wednesday that the show is currently in pre-production. "Beyond excited to work with two of my long-time favorite actors," she added about Offerman and Louise-Parker.

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Offerman continues to surprise fans with his diverse choices in acting roles, and this new project is no exception. The 50-year-old actor, who is married to Megan Mullally, has had roles on the crime series Fargo and the sci-fi drama Devs since the Parks and Rec finale aired in 2015.

Kaepernick is heralded as a trailblazer in bringing awareness of social-justice issues to contemporary sports. While a member of the San Francisco 49ers in 2016, he began kneeling during the National Anthem to protest police brutality suffered by people of color. He has not played in the NFL since the 2016 season and filed a grievance against the league that was settled in 2019.

 

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a video series in August that he wishes the league "had listened earlier" to Kaepernick in light of the Black Lives Matter protests this summer.