Smithsonian colours America again

MIPCOM: US factual cablenet Smithsonian Channel has renewed history series America in Color for a second season, produced by UK indie Arrow Media.

The 6×60’ second run will air next year after the success of the first, which premiered in July.

America in Color presents iconic moments of US history using artistry, an expert colourising team and cutting-edge technology to transform black-and-white films and photographs into 4K-quality colour images.

Arrow Media has been sourcing new footage from archives, forgotten family vaults and private collections.

The first season covered the 1920s to the 1960s, including the Prohibition era, rare home movies of president Franklin D Roosevelt and the attack on Pearl Harbour in World War II.

Season two will shift the focus from decades to thematic episodes on topics including the rise of the Mafia and the golden age of Hollywood.

The series is distributed internationally by Off the Fence.