‘Exterminate All The Brutes’: HBO Reveals Trailer & Sets Premiere Date For Raoul Peck’s Experimental Docuseries

UPDATED with trailer: HBO has set an April 7th release date and revealed the first trailer for anticipated hybrid series, Exterminate All the Brutes.

The four-parter from acclaimed director Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro) will dissect the processes by which history is created and concealed. Per HBO, it will specifically examine the “exploitative and genocidal aspects of European colonialism,” asking viewers to think about the way in which it continues to affect society today.

Based on works by three renowned authors and scholars—Sven Lindqvist (Exterminate All the Brutes), Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States) and Michel-Rolph Trouillot (Silencing the Past)—the series represents a groundbreaking and “personal voyage” through time, on the part of Peck.

“As writers, creators, filmmakers we have no choice but to try and reflect our societies and give some sort of analysis of them the best way we can,” says Peck. “And as artists, we need to break the limits of our art.”

Interweaving documentary and archival footage with animation, the genre-bending series also features “interpretive scripted scenes,” led by actor Josh Hartnett (Die Hart, Penny Dreadful). It’s produced by Velvet Films, with Peck and Rémi Grellety serving as executive producers. Sara Rodriguez serves as senior producer for HBO, with Lisa Heller and Nancy Abraham also on board as EPs.

Exterminate All the Brutes will debut on Wednesday the 7th at 9 p.m. ET/PT, with two back-to-back episodes. Its final two episodes will air back-to-back at the same time on Thursday, April 8. All four episodes will be made available to stream on HBO Max on April 7.

Take a look at the first trailer for the series above.