It’s fair to say that Hamilton has been a big success for Disney Plus, pushing up subscriber numbers and encouraging a lot of online debate over its politics and historical accuracy. For fans who haven’t yet had enough of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical, though, Disney are putting out a new special on July 10th, titled Hamilton: History Has Its Eyes On You.
The special will go into the making of the play, with host Robin Roberts interviewing the cast and crew behind the original production. We’ll also get discussion from a Harvard academic on the historical accuracy of Miranda’s adaptation, and presumably a lot of behind-the-scenes stories on how Hamilton became the success it’s been over the last few years. The interviews also appear to be recent, given that the trailer shows a now-customary group video chat.
Of course, those expecting any hard-hitting investigative reporting in the special will likely be disappointed, as this appears to be very much a celebration of Hamilton‘s success. Produced by ABC News, a subsidiary of Disney, History Has Its Eyes On You also probably won’t add much to some of the recent arguments about whether Hamilton obscures its contemporary contexts of slavery, but should be an entertaining watch nonetheless.
One of the great things about Hamilton is that it rewards re-watching and enjoyment of the levels of detail that Miranda puts into the production, which looks to be captured in the new special. The filmed version for Disney Plus has its flaws, but comes pretty close to capturing the live experience of the show. To Miranda’s credit, he’s also been open about Hamilton‘s approach to history and slavery, with one of the problems being the difficulty of covering everything he wanted to in an already extensive story.
Will you be watching the new Hamilton special though, or have you had enough of the musical for now? As always, let us know in the comments section down below.