--- title: The 1619 Project Is Bolder Than Ever in New Docuseries description: As the Hulu series' host, Nikole Hannah-Jones draws astute connections between the antebellum and pre-civil-rights past, and the present. canonical: https://time.com/6248799/1619-project-docuseries-review/ author: Judy Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-01-26T16:12:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T15:18:50.579Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: The 1619 Project Is Bolder Than Ever in New Docuseries og:description: As the Hulu series' host, Nikole Hannah-Jones draws astute connections between the antebellum past and the present. og:url: https://time.com/6248799/1619-project-docuseries-review/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt759073494f60ab05/698a39cbb21a9cc11d506e56/1619-project-doc.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 1619-project og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The 1619 Project Is Bolder Than Ever in New Docuseries twitter:description: As the Hulu series' host, Nikole Hannah-Jones draws astute connections between the antebellum past and the present. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt759073494f60ab05/698a39cbb21a9cc11d506e56/1619-project-doc.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A New Docuseries Reveals How Much More the Embattled 1619 Project Has Left to Say  by [Judy Berman](/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman TV Critic Jan 26, 2023 4:12 PM CUT  Nikole Hannah-Jones seen in an episode of The 1619 project Nikole Hannah-Jones seen in an episode of The 1619 projectPatti Perret—Hulu  by [Judy Berman](/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman TV Critic Jan 26, 2023 4:12 PM CUT The stated aim of the [1619 Project](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=4FF4658413A590F5DA37FB44BE249160&gwt=regi&assetType=REGIWALL "undefined") is to recenter American historical discourse around “the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans,” and in some senses it has been a victim of its own success. Launched in a 2019 issue of the New York _Times Magazine_ that coincided with the 400th anniversary of chattel slavery in the colonies that became the United States, the project was received with enthusiasm in many quarters and predictable outrage in others. As right-wingers raged against the willfully misunderstood concept of [critical race theory](https://time.com/6075193/critical-race-theory-debate/ "undefined"), a curriculum released alongside the 1619 Project became their [chief target](https://time.com/5889051/history-curriculum-politics/ "undefined"). Since then, the initiative’s leader, [Nikole Hannah-Jones](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2021/6096056/nikole-hannah-jones/ "undefined"), has defended it, in part, by keeping it in the public eye, first with the publication of the anthology [_The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story_](https://1619books.com/#books "undefined") and now in a Hulu docuseries also titled _The 1619 Project_. Given that the six hour-long episodes draw heavily on essays that have already fueled a book, a curriculum, and a [podcast](https://time.com/5524332/best-podcasts-to-listen-to/ "undefined"), it’s fair to ask whether the TV adaptation is overkill. But even the least controversial revisionist histories rarely gain a foothold without repetition—and in this case, stories new and old transcend partisan polemic when viewers get to see the faces behind them. **Read More:**[**_African-American History Finally Gets Its Own AP Class—And Historians Say It’s More Important Than Ever_**](https://time.com/6207652/ap-african-american-history-class/ "undefined") Neither an arthouse essay-doc like Raoul Peck’s [_Exterminate All the Brutes_](https://time.com/5952888/exterminate-all-brutes-review/ "undefined")nor slick edutainment like Will Smith’s [_Amend: The Fight for America_](https://time.com/5939045/black-history-month-documentaries/ "undefined"), _The 1619 Project_ balances rigor with approachability. Each episode takes on a different facet of Black life, from voting rights to music. Equally comfortable talking theory with academics, rhapsodizing over [Marvin Gaye](https://time.com/5555712/marvin-gaye-new-posthumous-album-review/ "undefined") with critic Wesley Morris, and reminiscing with her own family, whose history becomes a throughline, Hannah-Jones (an executive producer, along with [Oprah](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177763/oprah-winfrey-titans/ "undefined") and others) makes an ideal host. Anyone who follows the news will be familiar with many issues the series addresses, which makes some episodes feel a bit remedial. But at its best, _The 1619 Project_ makes astute—and highly personal—connections between the antebellum and pre-civil-rights past, and a present in which Black Americans still disproportionately face police violence, workplace exploitation, and other forms of inequality. A centuries-long history of white control over [Black women’s fertility](https://time.com/5494404/tressie-mcmillan-cottom-thick-pregnancy-competent/ "undefined") is filtered through a contemporary mom’s harrowing encounter with the medical establishment. A provocative episode on capitalism toggles between the economics of slavery and the [fight to unionize Amazon](https://time.com/6169185/chris-smalls-amazon-labor-union/ "undefined"). Backlash has not, evidently, diminished Hannah-Jones’ appetite for making bold arguments. That the series is poised to spark fresh controversy only reinforces how much more the 1619 Project has left to say. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6248799/1619-project-docuseries-review/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6248799/1619-project-docuseries-review/"},"headline":"A New Docuseries Reveals How Much More the Embattled 1619 Project Has Left to Say","datePublished":"2023-01-26T16:12:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T15:18:50.579Z","description":"Even the least controversial revisionist histories rarely gain a foothold without repetition—and in this case, stories new and old transcend partisan polemic when viewers get to see the faces behind them.","url":"https://time.com/6248799/1619-project-docuseries-review/","keywords":["Television","review","culturepod"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt759073494f60ab05/698a39cbb21a9cc11d506e56/1619-project-doc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Judy Berman","jobTitle":"TV Critic","url":"https://time.com/author/judy-berman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt759073494f60ab05/698a39cbb21a9cc11d506e56/1619-project-doc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"1619-project","caption":"1619-project","creditText":"Patti Perret—Hulu","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6248799/1619-project-docuseries-review/","name":"A New Docuseries Reveals How Much More the Embattled 1619 Project Has Left to Say"}}]}] ```