AI Production Company Behind Controversial 'Actress' Tilly Norwood Partners with History Channel for Time Travel Series

Company Behind AI Actress Tilly Norwood Teams Up with the History Channel

AI is slowly creeping into Hollywood, and one of the most high-profile purveyors of it is Particle6. A British production company, Particle6 shot to fame (and notoriety) earlier this summer when it launched "Tilly Norwood," an AI-generated "actress." Since then, Norwood has obviously inspired a lot of rancor and outrage, given the threat she poses to Hollywood's traditional business model. Most people have mocked Norwood, considering her little more than an expensive joke. Now, Particle6 is expanding its horizons and has teamed up with another brand that has inspired a lot of ridicule over the years: the History Channel. Yes, the place that bought you "it's aliens" has apparently decided to launch its own AI-powered series. It's called Streets of the Past (or Straten van Toen in Dutch), and it's described as a "10-episode, short-form history series." The show will be developed by the creator of Norwood's progenitor, comedian and writer Eline van der Velden, Deadline writes. The outlet describes the new series thusly: It will see Dutch historical investigator, author and reality star Corjan Mol (The Curse of Oak Island) transported back in time, with the help of AI, to tell compelling stories associated with some of the Netherlands’ most famous streets, squares and canal sides. That sounds suitably goofy. Gizmodo reached out to the History Channel and to Particle6 for more information on their upcoming partnership. A representative from Hearsh Networks, which owns the History Channel, told NBC that it would continue to use AI in an "ethical" and "transparent" way. "We will continue to explore [AI's] potential with ethical partners such as Particle6, using it thoughtfully, with clear guardrails and principles, while all the time being transparent with our audiences and sharing when they are watching AI-generated content," said Sam Pearson, the network's head of short form commissioning. “Eline and the team at Particle6 have 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," Pearson told Deadline. "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." Yeah...uh, cool. I suppose a place like the History Channelâ€"which a lot of people don't take particularly seriouslyâ€"is a good niche for AI, since most people don't take it particularly seriously. That said, there's no telling whether Streets of the Past will be some sort of surprise runaway hit or whether people will just do what they've tended to do when AI shows up in TV shows and movies: yawn and change the channel. The series will be available to watch on The History Channel in the Netherlands in January, Deadline writes.

Studio behind 'AI actor' Tilly Norwood teams with History Channel on AI time travel series

"Through the combination of contemporary live-action footage and precisely created AI scenes, viewers can literally 'walk' through the streets of yesteryear," the channel's owner said. The production studio behind Tilly Norwood, a digital character dubbed Hollywood's first "AI actor," plans to join forces with the History Channel in the Netherlands on an AI-powered time travel series, the companies announced Monday. The 10-part series "Streets of the Past" will feature Dutch author and media personality Corjan Mol exploring famed streets and squares across the Netherlands "with the help of AI." "AI will help Mol step back in time and join the action in a cameo role," the companies said in a news release. "Each immersive historical scene will be created by AI using archival materials -- such as paintings, engravings or photos -- to ensure accuracy." The series will be produced by Particle6, a company based in the United Kingdom. Particle6 is best known for developing Tilly Norwood, a synthetic character that has stoked intense controversy in the traditional entertainment industry. In a statement in September that earned national news coverage, for example, the Screen Actors Guild condemned reports that Hollywood talent agencies were exploring whether to sign Tilly Norwood as a client. "To be clear, 'Tilly Norwood' is not an actor, it's a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers -- without permission or compensation" the guild said. "It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we've seen, audiences aren't interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience," the guild added. Dutch comedian and writer Eline Van der Velden, who founded Particle6, pushed back on the criticism at the time. In a statement on Instagram, Van der Velden said she views "AI not as a replacement for people, but as a tool -- a new paintbrush." "AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre, on their own merits, rather than compared directly with human actors," Van der Velden wrote. "Each form of art has its place, and each can be valued for what it uniquely brings." Sam Pearson, the head of short form commissioning at Hearst Networks, said Monday that the History Channel would be "transparent" about how AI is used in the time travel series. "We will continue to explore [AI's] potential with ethical partners such as Particle6, using it thoughtfully, with clear guardrails and principles, while all the time being transparent with our audiences and sharing when they are watching AI-generated content," Pearson said.

Tilly Norwood Creator Unveils AI-Led Time Travel Series for History Channel

Eline van der Velden of the AI-powered production company Particle6 said on Monday that Straten van Toen (Streets of the Past) is coming to The History Channel in the Netherlands. Made in partnership with Hearst Networks, the 10-part show will see a Dutch historical investigator, author and reality star Corjan Mol (The Curse of Oak Island) transported back in time. With the help of AI, the program will tell stories associated with some of the Netherlands' most famous streets, squares and canal sides. In each episode, Mol will start on location and visit the modern-day street. As the story of its important moment in history unfolds, "AI will help Mol step back in time and join the action in a cameo role," said Particle6. "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." The real Corjan Mol closes each episode with a reflection about what that moment meant for Dutch history and how its legacy still shapes the Netherlands and Dutch people today. "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," said van der Velden. "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 incredible, cinematic images that could provide a blueprint for the history formats of the future." "We are delighted that Straten van Toen allows us to continue our relationship with Hearst Networks," continued van der Velden. "Not only is the team collaborative, but they are also very forward-thinking and were fully supportive of us experimenting with AI in a history series, ahead of it being adopted in other genres. Also, being Dutch, it proved especially significant that our first exploration of using AI to bring the past to life in this way was with a subject so close to my heart." The AI production company grabbed headlines earlier this year when news broke that talent studios were circling to sign a British 24-year-old Particle6 had created through AI, a character named Tilly Norwood. A-listers, SAG-AFTRA and British union Equity were among those criticizing the synthetic actress. Van der Velden has maintained her work does not intend to replace human actors.

Tilly Norwood's Creator Is Bringing an AI-Led Series To The History Channel - IGN

Remember Tilly Norwood? That totally-not-human AI actor that some people want to normalize at the expense of actual human actors? Well, Tilly's creator, Eline van der Velden, is now making a shortform AI-led series for The History Channel. Van der Velden's AI-forward production company Particle6 recently revealed that the show -- titled Straten Van Toen, which means Streets of the Past in Dutch -- will be produced for the Netherlands arm of The History Channel and made in partnership with Hearst Networks. The 10-episode series, which will star Dutch historical investigator and reality star Corjan Mol, will see the host go back in time to give historical context to some of the most famous streets, squares, and canal sides in the Netherlands -- with the help of AI, of course, which Particle6 says will bring the historical context directly to wherever Mol is, as he shoots the series on location. "AI will help Mol step back in time and join the action in a cameo role," Particle6 explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "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." Creator Van der Velden added, "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 incredible, cinematic images that could provide a blueprint for the history formats of the future." Van der Velden has claimed that her work does not intend to replace human actors, though Tilly Norwood's initial announcement was met by a swift backlash from human actors and turned into something of a meme by Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds.