HBO Lands Imagine Dragons Frontman’s LGBTQ Documentary

HBO Documentary Films has acquired the U.S. TV rights to the documentary Believer, from Live Nation Productions. Directed by Don Argott, the film follows Dan Reynolds, a Mormon and the frontman for the band Imagine Dragons, as he explores how the Mormon Church treats its LGBTQ members. A rising suicide rate amongst teens in Utah drives his mission.

Believer will have its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, which takes place Jan. 18-28 in Park City, Utah. It will air on HBO this summer.

The film documents the past year of Reynolds’ life, which included organizing the LoveLoud Festival in Orem, Utah, to benefit gay rights organizations.

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“LoveLoud reached 20,000 people in Utah, which is really small compared to the number of people who need to be reached,” said Reynolds. “I think the reason the film needs to happen is because I feel like this is a way that nobody can turn their heads away.”

Reynolds wrote two original songs for the film.

Believer is a production of Live Nation Productions. It is produced by Heather Parry, Robert Reynolds and Sheena M. Joyce, and executive produced by Michael Rapino, Dan Reynolds, Don Argott, Jeff Ciabattari, Willie Mercer and Adam Milano.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.