Remember Tilly Norwood? That totally-not-human AI actor that some people want to normalize at the expense of actual human actors? Well, Tilly’s creator, Eline van der Velden, is now making a shortform AI-led series for The History Channel.
Van der Velden’s AI-forward production company Particle6 recently revealed that the show — titled Straten Van Toen, which means Streets of the Past in Dutch — will be produced for the Netherlands arm of The History Channel and made in partnership with Hearst Networks.
The 10-episode series, which will star Dutch historical investigator and reality star Corjan Mol, will see the host go back in time to give historical context to some of the most famous streets, squares, and canal sides in the Netherlands — with the help of AI, of course, which Particle6 says will bring the historical context directly to wherever Mol is, as he shoots the series on location.
"AI will help Mol step back in time and join the action in a cameo role," Particle6 explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "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."
Creator Van der Velden added, "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. 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.”
Van der Velden has claimed that her work does not intend to replace human actors, though Tilly Norwood's initial announcement was met by a swift backlash from human actors and turned into something of a meme by Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
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