New Animated Series Recreates American Revolution's Pivotal Moments
A new animated series, "On This Day... 1776," is bringing pivotal moments from America's founding year to life, according to a recent announcement by TIME Studios and Primordial Soup. The short-form series, executive produced by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, utilizes a combination of traditional filmmaking tools and emerging AI capabilities to tell short narrative stories about the Revolutionary War. Episodes one and two are now available for streaming via TIME's YouTube channel.
The series recreates scenes and moments from 1776 on their 250th anniversaries, reframing the Revolution not as a foregone conclusion but as a fragile experiment shaped by those who fought for it, TIME reported. Grounded in historical records, the series aims to offer a fresh perspective on the events that shaped the nation.
"On This Day... 1776" relates America's anniversary story without fifes, drums, or cake, TIME noted. Each weekly episode, just a few minutes in length, debuts around the date of the event it depicts 250 years earlier. The series seeks to capture the uncertainty and challenges faced by the colonies as they grappled with their relationship with the British Crown. The colonies weren't sure what they wanted, but they knew it wasn't the current situation, according to TIME.
Primordial Soup, the AI Studio founded by Darren Aronofsky, is producing the series. The collaboration with TIME Studios aims to distribute the series across TIME's YouTube platform throughout 2026.
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