Next gen production company Particle6 has secured a new short-form series commission from Hearst Networks that uses AI to recreate historic scenes.
Straten van Toen (Streets of the Past) is a 10-episode series, commissioned for The HISTORY Channel in the Netherlands, which sees Dutch historical investigator, author and reality star Corjan Mol transported back in time, with the help of AI, to tell stories associated with some of the Netherland’s streets, squares and canal sides.
Episodes include a focus on Rokin in Amsterdam, today a shopping street, but in the 17th Century home to the world’s first stock exchange; and Janskerkhof in Utrecht, now a flower market and student square but a centre of Dutch Resistance during WW2.
In each episode, Mol will start on location and visit the modern-day street. As the story unfolds, AI will help Mol step back in time and join the action in a cameo role. 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.
Eline van der Velden, founder and CEO of Particle6, said: “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 images that could provide a blueprint for the history formats of the future.”
Sam Pearson, head of short form commissioning at Hearst Networks, added: “Particle6 has once again created a smart and entertaining factual series for us but this time with the addition of incredible backdrops and characters brought to life using AI. The end result promises to immerse our audience in historical scenes and stories at the heart of history, and we cannot wait to see their reactions.”
Straten van Toen will be made available on The HISTORY Channel in the Netherlands in January 2026, as well as its SVOD/BVOD platforms and social media such as Facebook and Instagram as well as YouTube.
