Nikole Hannah-Jones on Bringing ‘The 1619 Project’ to Television: “We Have To Tell the Story That Needs To Be Told”

Cori Murray
·8 min read
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When Nikole Hannah-Jones heard that the TV adaptation of The 1619 Project earned three Emmy noms, she was especially pleased about this specific recognition: outstanding cinematography for a nonfiction program. “I was particularly happy Jerry Henry got the nomination for cinematography because he’s just so talented,” she says of the Hulu docuseries that also received nods for best documentary or nonfiction series and for picture editing for a nonfiction program. Right before the nominations came out, “Naimah Jabali-Nash, one of the directors, texted me this shot from Georgia,” Hannah-Jones adds. “[In the picture,] we were out reporting in 99 percent humidity, on a plantation in Georgia. We were drenched in sweat and spending nine hours out there. It was a reminder of everything that we did to bring this to the screen.”

Hannah-Jones’ Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting on the underexplored impact of enslaved Africans on the U.S. economy, society, politics and culture since arriving against their will 400 years ago was first published by The New York Times Magazine in August 2019. Within three years, the series was developed for multiplatforms: a podcast, two books and an educational curriculum. In 2020, Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films and Lionsgate partnered with Hannah-Jones and The New York Times and announced a series of cross-media projects based on the critically acclaimed work that’s been under fire for its critical race theory. The first production, a six-part docuseries, premiered in February on Hulu. Hannah-Jones, who serves as host, narrator and an executive producer, spoke with THR about transferring the series from the page to screen.

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Reporters tend to be behind-the-scenes people, but the docuseries centered you as the host and narrator. How was that transition — to be in front of the camera in such a prominent way?

I definitely got better as the series went on. I’m a print reporter for a reason. I never really had a desire to be in front of the camera. I’m myself on camera. I had my raggedy notepad that Roger [Ross Williams, who directed two episodes] said we needed to replace because it looks terrible on camera. But I’m taking notes! I’m interviewing [on camera] the same way I do interviews [for a print story]. I felt vulnerable that people get to see how I interview, see my techniques and how I interact with sources. You don’t have that audience when you’re a print reporter.

The series centered more of your personal story and filmed in your family’s home in Waterloo, Iowa.

I’ve spent four years knowing how you can be harassed online, knowing how cruel people can be, knowing that people will threaten you if they don’t like the politics of what you’re talking about. I had conversations with my family about what it could mean to be in such a politicized project, even though they’re just sharing their life experiences. But they were so honored that people would want to know their story. They’re just regular, humble, working-class folks. They are local celebrities now. They haven’t received the type of backlash that I worried that they would receive. As journalists, we’re always asking people to be vulnerable, to put themselves out there in a story that they don’t control. Now it’s reversed for me — to ask my own family and to put them out there.

How much did the podcast series of The 1619 Project, which won two Webby Awards, impact the making of the docuseries?

The very first time I met Roger, he told me it was the podcast that had him thinking we can turn this into a documentary. I’m the host and I’m weaving in my own family stories to narrate these larger issues; I think Roger and our team took a lot of inspiration from that. One key difference was that some of the essays that ended up in the series didn’t exist in the podcast because they came from the book, not the original magazine piece. We did a lot more original reporting, so you do get completely different stories.

You had key contributors to the print and book editions. But with the transfer to TV, you worked with a new team. How did you ensure that the essence of the book stayed true to your original intent and didn’t become too “Hollywood”?

That was a big fear of mine. One of the reasons I picked Roger as a partner is [because] we connected immediately that this has to be unflinching. We didn’t want to sell this documentary to anyone that [would] require us to water certain things down. We have to tell the story that needs to be told. Disney [which owns Hulu] was clear that they supported the serious work we wanted to do, and they got the gravitas with which we wanted to put something on film. We had a mostly Black production team … at Onyx Collective, so even the Disney people giving us notes were from our community and understood what we were trying to do. If there was something that I felt was important to be shown, it’s on the screen.

Aside from Oprah Winfrey, an executive producer, being very protective of the project, where there any other notes she shared with you based on her expertise as a filmmaker?

Oprah’s just amazing in general. She was supporting my vision, but not trying to come in and say, “I know television … I know filmmaking … This is what I think it should be.” She was great at giving us the big vision, once we were showing cuts. For the episode on capitalism, we were really struggling with the structure — which is, of course, an extremely academic subject in some ways. It was challenge to break down into a language that doesn’t bore people. Also, we were working in COVID and we’re doing new reporting, we editing other episodes — everyone was working on multiple things at the same time. It was crazy. But Oprah came in with a clarity of vision and say immediately, “I know what you’re doing.” But that’s not working as a lay viewer who doesn’t have all this historical background. In the end, she said we needed to bring in someone with fresh eyes to help us with structure. We did it, and she helped us get the money to do it. And she was right. Lastly, when we were coming up with all the ways we were going to publicize this, everyone wants to put Oprah’s name first because it’s Oprah. She didn’t want to do that. She was like, “I wasn’t the one that did all the work on this. Put my name in alphabetical order.” I had so much respect that she didn’t want to take more credit than what she thought she deserved. I don’t think that’s common.

Of the six episodes that aired, which one gave you the most joy?

I’m going to cheat a little bit and give two answers. I love interviewing our elders who fought in the Civil Rights Movement. Talking to Mr. MacArthur Cotton — his story is incredibly painful, but this was a man who was literally tortured in Parchman Prison, who was beaten more times than you can count. He sacrificed his own college education to fight in the movement. In the documentary, when I’m apologizing for his torture, he says we should be thankful that we did it. And I am. Getting to spend time talking to regular Americans who risked everything to try to turn this country into a democracy is the greatest joy in my life. The second answer: I just loved working on the reparations episode that aired on ABC primetime. To be able to report on reparations and create an episode where we are not flinching, the language we use and the arguments we make. To get an hour on reparations on national television during primetime — you see, I’m smiling.

Did working on this TV project inform you on becoming a better journalist and storyteller?

Every type of storytelling teaches you how to be a better storyteller. I write very long, complex sentences, complex paragraphs, 10,000-word essays. But I have to write for this vehicle. You have to be much more direct, you have to get to the point. It doesn’t make you a better writer. What I learned most is how to be a collaborative writer. I’ve never liked co-writing, it’s not my thing. Writing, for me, is a solitary endeavor. I know how I want things to be said. But we had to co-write. I had to learn to really depend on others to do research and be much more collaborative in the process than I’ve ever been. That’s made me a better journalist and a better writer going forward.

Interview edited for length and clarity.

This story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

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