Why Darren Aronofsky thought an AI-generated historical docudrama was a good idea

The new series On This Day… 1776, exploring the Revolutionary War, is not the fully AI-generated project some initial reports suggested. While utilizing “AI-powered tools” in its video creation, the core creative work—scriptwriting, voice acting, and post-production—remains firmly in human hands.

Behind the Scenes of a Hybrid Production

The script for On This Day… 1776 was penned by a team of writers led by Ari Handel and Lucas Sussman, longtime collaborators with director Darren Aronofsky. This detail, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, casts doubt on criticisms leveled by publications like the Guardian, which described early episodes as exhibiting “ChatGPT-sounding sloganeering.”

Did You Know? The series’ dialogue is recorded by actors belonging to the Screen Actors Guild, not generated by artificial intelligence.

According to a production source, the project was always intended as a human-driven endeavor. The team had been planning and researching this type of storytelling for some time, and didn’t seek AI assistance in the writing process. Experimentation with AI writing tools revealed a quality that didn’t meet professional standards.

What you see here is not a real human actor, but his lines were written and voiced by humans. Credit: Primordial Soup

The production also emphasizes the human element in voice work, with all dialogue performed by Screen Actors Guild members. This approach may be influenced by recently negotiated union rules, but the source also noted that initial AI-generated voices were deemed unsuitable for a professional production.

Expert Insight: The emphasis on human involvement in key creative areas—writing, voice acting—suggests a deliberate strategy to balance technological innovation with established artistic practices and labour standards.

Beyond the script and voice work, humans are responsible for all other aspects of production, including music, editing, sound mixing, visual effects, and colour correction. AI’s role is limited to the video generation itself, where it creates individual shots based on human-created storyboards, visual references, and script information. These shots are then assembled and refined through traditional post-production techniques.

Frequently Asked Questions

What role does AI play in On This Day… 1776?

AI is used to generate individual video shots based on human-created storyboards and scripts, but it does not write the script or generate the voices.

Who wrote the script for the series?

The script was written by a team of writers overseen by Ari Handel and Lucas Sussman, longtime writing partners with Darren Aronofsky.

Are the voices in the series artificial?

No, all dialogue is recorded by Screen Actors Guild voice actors, not AI facsimiles.

Will other productions follow this hybrid approach, blending AI tools with traditional filmmaking techniques, remains to be seen. This model could become more common as the technology evolves and production teams gain experience. Alternatively, fully AI-generated content may emerge, or the industry may lean further into prioritizing entirely human-led projects.