A shortform, AI-led series is on the way from the creator of synthetic character Tilly Norwood.
Eline van der Velden of the AI-powered production company Particle6 said on Monday that Straten van Toen (Streets of the Past) is coming to The History Channel in the Netherlands.
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Made in partnership with Hearst Networks, the 10-part show will see a Dutch historical investigator, author and reality star Corjan Mol (The Curse of Oak Island) transported back in time. With the help of AI, the program will tell stories associated with some of the Netherlands’ most famous streets, squares and canal sides.
In each episode, Mol will start on location and visit the modern-day street. As the story of its important moment in history unfolds, “AI will help Mol step back in time and join the action in a cameo role,” said Particle6.
“Each immersive historical scene will be created by AI using archival materials — such as paintings, engravings or photos — to ensure accuracy and Particle6 will use both real historical characters and imagined ones to convey key facts through real stories about events in the Netherlands at this time.”
The real Corjan Mol closes each episode with a reflection about what that moment meant for Dutch history and how its legacy still shapes the Netherlands and Dutch people today.
“While we have been using AI behind the scenes in our productions for some time now, in areas like research and post, this is our first series where AI is majorly deployed on screen, all carefully guided by humans of course,” said van der Velden. “And, as we always knew it would when the technology allowed, it has proved the perfect creative partner, enabling us to seamlessly blend live-action footage of the Netherlands today with AI scenes from the same locations in the past, to deliver incredible, cinematic images that could provide a blueprint for the history formats of the future.”
“We are delighted that Straten van Toen allows us to continue our relationship with Hearst Networks,” continued van der Velden. “Not only is the team collaborative, but they are also very forward-thinking and were fully supportive of us experimenting with AI in a history series, ahead of it being adopted in other genres. Also, being Dutch, it proved especially significant that our first exploration of using AI to bring the past to life in this way was with a subject so close to my heart.”
The AI production company grabbed headlines earlier this year when news broke that talent studios were circling to sign a British 24-year-old Particle6 had created through AI, a character named Tilly Norwood. A-listers, SAG-AFTRA and British union Equity were among those criticizing the synthetic actress. Van der Velden has maintained her work does not intend to replace human actors.
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