History doubles down on docs

US cable network History has commissioned more than 100 hours of documentary series and specials, as part of an “increased focus” on the genre.

History president and general manager Jana Bennett (pictured) has greenlit programming focused on topics such as drugs, the emigration of various peoples to the US, and iconic American cars.

America’s War on Drugs will look at how the US’s US$1 trillion efforts to curb drug use have failed to stop international distributors. It runs to four two-hour episodes, and comes from Talos Films.

America: Journey of the Brave is a 2x120mins doc mini about immigration into the US and looking at Ireland’s Great Potato Famine, Russian Jews between 1881 and 1914. Nutopia is producing.

The Cars that Made America (WT) will reveal stories of iconic vehicles and the men that created them, including Henry Ford and the Dodge brothers. Running to three 120-minute episodes, it comes from Magilla Entertainment.

Elsewhere, Superheroes Decoded (WT) comes from Morgan Spurlock’s Warrior Poets, How the 90s Change the World (WT) is a RadicalMedia production, Age of Terror comes from Pulse Films, and the previously announced Frontiersman, from Stephen David Entertainment.

A+E Networks International has worldwide sales rights to all of the new shows.

“The network’s increased focus on documentary programming, collaborating with some of the best storytellers in the genre, along with our commitment to sustainable, premium non-fiction and scripted series, will continue to drive the ongoing success of the History brand,” said Bennett.