EXCLUSIVE: Here’s an exclusive clip from A Brief History of the Future, the PBS doc series that’s launching internationally at the London TV Screenings this week.
The six-parter aims use history, science, and unexpected storytelling to “expand our understanding about the impact that the choices we make today will have on our tomorrows,” according to its producers.
Drake’s entertainment company DreamCrew teamed with Zach Morgan of Untold, Kathryn Murdoch and Ari Wallach’s Futurific Studio and philanthropist Wendy Schmidt on the series, which debuts on PBS on Wednesday, April 3 at 9pm ET. Futurist Wallach is the host. A trailer dropped earlier this month.
In the exclusive clip above, architect Bjarke Ingels talks about how the Danish capital Copenhagen has been transformed and made healthier and happier by urban planning designed to improve the future. “When you design something… you are giving form to the future,” he says.
The show will explore the possibility of a better future through insights from French President Emmanuel Macron, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, sailor Dame Ellen MacArthur, musician Grimes, climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, legendary soccer player Kylian Mbappé.
“We want to create an inspiring counterpoint to the doomerism and dystopia that dominates much of today’s public discourse about the future,” said host Ari Wallach, a renowned futurist, author, and founder of Longpath Labs.
Andrew Morgan is writer and director. Morgan is the producer and Murdoch, Wallach and DreamCrew are the exec producers. Bill Gardiner is the Executive in Charge for PBS. Funding comes from the Rosalind P. Walter Foundation and public television viewers.
Fremantle is handling international distribution for A Brief History of the Future, and launching it as a headline docuseries for its Fremantle Presents event on Friday, 1 March as part of the London TV Screenings this week.