101 Studios and Versus Partner on Docuseries About Revolutionary Public Access Television

101 Studios and Versus Productions announced today their partnership on Access the Public, a docuseries that will trace the origins of public access television. The series will highlight hours of unearthed footage featuring the inspiring, shocking, hilarious and profound content that galvanized communities across the nation.

Before there was YouTube, Facebook and TikTok, public access television provided a voice to the previously voiceless and served as a career foundation for thousands of content creators. The series will feature exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes material with some of the famous and infamous personalities who were able to make public television so captivating.

Access the Public will give a firsthand recollection of the rise of public access television from 1970-1990 and how it changed television forever. The platform created genres, advanced women’s and LGBTQ rights, won Supreme Court rulings and changed the way content was consumed by providing an outlet for free speech. The docuseries will cover some of the revolutionary shows that played a hand in these movements including Gay USA, The Live Show, Midnight Blue and many others.

“Access the Public is an exciting project for us because it uncovers and reveals a big part of history that many people are not familiar with,” said David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios. “The role that public access television played in shaping how we produce and consume entertainment to this day is immense, and we are proud to have a hand in telling the story to audiences worldwide.”

Added Versus Co-Founder and Executive Producer Rob Meyers, “Growing up in New York, I felt like you always had these mini revolutions all around you, be it racial, sexual, or artistic.  Public Access TV captured all of this in flashes of brilliance, showing the city at its most unfiltered - which is exactly how we plan to share it with a new generation of viewers.”

Justin Barnes, Rob Meyers and Mark Grande from Versus Entertainment will executive produce the series along with Ben Bitonti, David Hutkin and David C. Glasser from 101 Studios. The deal was brokered by UTA.