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Screenshot via Humans of New York/Facebook

‘Humans of New York: The Series’ is coming to Facebook Watch

Seems like a natural evolution.

 

Christine Friar

Streaming

Posted on Aug 25, 2017   Updated on May 22, 2021, 7:23 pm CDT

If you’ve been following Humans of New York over the years, there’s good news: The social media blog about the extraordinary lives of everyday New Yorkers is being made into a 12-part docuseries.

Humans of New York: The Series was announced Thursday on the blog’s official Facebook page. It will premiere on Facebook’s brand new video platform, Facebook Watch, next week—and if the trailer’s any indication, a lot more of the blog’s signature sweetness comes through when you can hear people speak.

Humans of New York Trailer

Early on I realized that video would add a deeper layer to Humans of New York. At the heart of all these posts are the conversations themselves. I’m often deeply moved by the people I meet. Or they make me laugh. Or they make me think. And I always do my best to recreate the experience through photos and words. But I always knew that video would provide the closest thing to ‘actually being there.’ So for the last four years, I’ve filmed 1200 interviews on the streets of New York. (With the help of an extremely talented cinematographer named Michael Crommett.) Instead of posting these videos one day at a time, I held onto them so that one day I could combine them into something special. My goal was not to make a television show based on Humans of New York. I wanted the television show to *be* Humans of New York. I think I came pretty close. And I think/hope you will love it. Humans of New York, the series, will premiere next week on Watch– Facebook's new platform for shows.

Posted by Humans of New York on Thursday, August 24, 2017

It’s a little like watching the old married couples in the confessional from When Harry Met Sally.

Creator Brandon Stanton shared the following message along with the trailer:

Early on I realized that video would add a deeper layer to Humans of New York. At the heart of all these posts are the conversations themselves. I’m often deeply moved by the people I meet. Or they make me laugh. Or they make me think. And I always do my best to recreate the experience through photos and words. But I always knew that video would provide the closest thing to ‘actually being there.’ So for the last four years, I’ve filmed 1200 interviews on the streets of New York. (With the help of an extremely talented cinematographer named Michael Crommett.) Instead of posting these videos one day at a time, I held onto them so that one day I could combine them into something special. My goal was not to make a television show based on Humans of New York. I wanted the television show to *be* Humans of New York. I think I came pretty close. And I think/hope you will love it. Humans of New York, the series, will premiere next week on Watch– Facebook’s new platform for shows.

He told the Hollywood Reporter that Facebook has had a huge role in Humans of New York‘s growth, so “it seemed to be a natural evolution to do some interviews on film.”

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*First Published: Aug 25, 2017, 10:54 am CDT