American Revolution Series Spotlights New History Film Lab

The first part of "1776: The Year That Made America" made its national debut on April 6 at the Jonsson Performance Hall. The television series was written and produced by Dr. Kevin Waite, associate professor of history at UT Dallas.

A University of Texas at Dallas historian and documentary filmmaker is bringing students into the picture as he aims to make history more accessible to general audiences.

Dr. Kevin Waite, associate professor of history in the Harry W. Bass School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology, recently debuted on campus the first of a new six-part television series, "1776: The Year That Made America." The show, produced by Dash Pictures, focuses on the Revolutionary War era and will be released on National Geographic and Disney+ ahead of the country's 250th anniversary.

The series also launched what Waite hopes will become a fixture at UT Dallas: a history film lab.

"The lab is designed to give students access to the kinds of experiences typically reserved for industry professionals," said Dr. Eric Schlereth, professor and program head of history, as he introduced Waite's series April 6 at the Jonsson Performance Hall. "The history film lab will prepare students to pursue careers in media, education, public history and beyond."

Flipping the Script

Waite noted that many people learn history from documentaries, but few historians are actively involved in making such films, despite possessing the skills to do so.

"We have so many of the component parts of a good history documentary right here at UT Dallas," said Waite, who is a Fellow, Anne Stark Watson and Chester Watson History Distinguished Professor. "Faculty expertise, student research, professional relationships, as well as a lot of the technical skills necessary for good filmmaking - it's all right here at our doorstep. My aim is to bring more of these opportunities to history students at UT Dallas."

The series focuses on the contributions of Black people, women and Native Americans during the Revolutionary War.

Diego Laureano BA'26, who earned his degree in history in May, and economics and history senior Ashna Karia, two research assistants, were tasked with fact-checking and revising the script. Karia is a National Merit Scholar and was an Archer Fellow last spring.

"It was fun because I put my skills to use for a production," Laureano said. "But it also was nerve-racking because this was the first time I had done something professional."

The experience of juggling school and the demands of the production and working across time zones -- the production company is based in London -- was challenging, he said. But Laureano jumped at the chance to help with most of the episodes and found accurate historical depictions through the Library of Congress and UT Dallas' Eugene McDermott Library.

"It's something I'm going to be able to show people," he said.

Successful History

Dr. Kevin Waite (left), with Diego Laureano BA'26, who earned his degree in history in May. Laureano was one of two research assistants who fact-checked and revised the script for "1776: The Year That Made America."

Dash Pictures approached Waite to produce the new documentary because of his work on another series, "Pirates: Behind the Legends," which he co-wrote for National Geographic and Hulu.

Waite's new "1776" series includes reenactors, professional actors and history professors from various universities to highlight stories, such as those of Crispus Attucks, the first casualty of the Revolutionary War during the Boston Massacre, and Harry Washington, who was enslaved by George Washington.

"We tried to create a show that captures multiple perspectives on the American Revolution to tell a bigger, broader and more complex story about this period in American history," Waite said.

The most difficult part of such an ambitious project was deciding what material to feature in the 45-minute episodes that include interviews with multiple academics.

"I got to talk to people I like and respect -- historians with whom I wanted to spend eight hours in a room sitting behind the camera," he said.

With production of the TV series complete, Waite said he is excited about UT Dallas becoming a place to produce history films.

"We hope this grows into a larger operation involving faculty members and students collaborating on multiple projects from conception and research to filming to postproduction and distribution," he said.