A Brief History of the Future (TV series)

A Brief History of the Future
Written byAndrew Morgan
Directed byAndrew Morgan
Presented byAri Wallach
StarringAri Wallach
Music byDuncan Blickenstaff
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producersPeter Nelson

Jason Shrier
Drake
Kathryn Murdoch
Wendy Schmidt

Ari Wallach
Production companyFuturific Studios
Original release
NetworkPBS
ReleaseApril 3, 2024 (2024-04-03)

A Brief History of the Future is a 2024 six-part documentary series produced by PBS that explores potential futures for humanity, hosted by futurist Ari Wallach.

Synopsis

The series takes viewers on a global journey to meet with scientists, entrepreneurs, and visionaries who are shaping the world of tomorrow.[1]

Production

A Brief History of the Future was written and directed by Andrew Morgan and produced by Zach Morgan of UNTOLD. The series was executive produced by Kathryn Murdoch, Ari Wallach, Wendy Schmidt, and Canadian musician Drake's DreamCrew.[1]

It was produced at Futurific Studios, co-founded by Murdoch and Wallach in 2023. The studio is intended to be a place for creatives to work on ideas relating to "protopia", a word coined by Wired co-founder Kevin Kelly, meaning "a state that is better today than yesterday". It implies practical solutions to big global challenges, rather than just presenting dystopian narratives.[2]

It is documentary series comprising six episodes.[1]

Release

The series premiered on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at a private screening in Museum of Modern Art in the New York City.[3]

The first episode of the series aired on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, on PBS in the United States.[4]

Reception

The show opened to generally positive reviews.[5] Devin Coldewey of TechCrunch praised it for its positive commentary, "From mushroom leather to ocean cleanup to death doulas, Wallach finds people who see the same scary future we do but are choosing to do something about it, even if that thing seems hopelessly small or naïve."[6]

Legacy

The show also produced additional content while filming the show to be used for education purposes in the classrooms, called "Futures Literacy", and available on PBS Learning Media.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c A Brief History of the Future. PBS. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  2. ^ Pompeo, Joe (July 21, 2023). "Kathryn Murdoch Wants to Flip the Dystopian Script With New "Protopian" Production Studio". Vanity Fair. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  3. ^ Kircher, Madison Malone; Westervelt, Nina (April 3, 2024). "Partying on a Tuesday With Elon Musk and His 3-Year-Old". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  4. ^ "A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FUTURE SET TO PREMIERE APRIL 3, 2024, ON PBS". About PBS - Main. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  5. ^ Bloom, David. "'A Brief History' PBS Doc Series Argues For Optimism About The Future". Forbes. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  6. ^ Coldewey, Devin (April 3, 2024). "'A Brief History of the Future' offers a hopeful antidote to cynical tech takes". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  7. ^ "Futures Literacy". PBS LearningMedia. Retrieved April 6, 2024.