Anthem on Hulu: Release date, trailer, what to expect, and more

Anthem is a forthcoming music documentary on Hulu that promises to "remix the American sound." This new documentary was produced by Onyx Collective and directed by Peter Nicks. The documentary debuted at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival, which took place from June 7 to 18 in Manhattan and is scheduled to debut on Hulu on June 28, just in time for Independence Day and Black Music Month.

Its official synopsis reads:

“Reflecting upon The Star-Spangled Banner, Anthem follows acclaimed composer Kris Bowers and Grammy-winning music producer Dahi as they take a musical journey traveling across America to create a new sound, inspired by what our country’s national anthem might be if written in today’s time.”

To note, Bowers is an acclaimed music composer who has created the scores for films such as Green Book, King Richard, and TV series including Bridgerton, When They See Us, Mrs. America, and Dear White People.

Meanwhile, DJ Dahi has produced music for the likes of Kendrick Lamar (Money Trees), Drake (Worst Behaviour), Dr. Dre, Travis Scott, Nas, Madonna, and Big Sean (I don’t f*ck with you), among others.

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Anthem is backed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ryan Coogler, among others

The official trailer for the documentary was released early in the month, and it depicted Bowers and Dahi embarking on a cross-country road trip to re-imagine the national anthem, which was titled We Are America, for modern times.

Tension and suspense are visible in a few select shots as the protagonists face an uphill battle to replace a song with over 200 years of history. They can also be seen traveling from city to city and conversing with musicians of various genres and formats in order to reach their objective.

At the fag end of the trailer, an interviewee wonders about something that practically sums up the tone of the upcoming show. She says:

“How can you universalize the experience of being American?”

Apart from Bowers and Dahi, the documentary guest stars Joy Harjo, Ruby Amanfu, Charity Bowden, and Cecilia Cassandra Peña-Govea (aka La Doña). The documentary was well-received at the Tribeca Film Festival, with most praising the mature approach to patriotism and the premise. However, some believed the film may have fared better with a different structure.

While talking to Billboard earlier, Dahi said of his experience:

“Anthem started with the road trip that [Kris Bowers and I] took when we when we went around and started to just feel [and] understand what American music traditionally kind of comes from.”

He added:

“Soul music, country, jazz, native music, blues, and gospel are the foundational music that’s being a part of our being and a part of the different creative processes that people have expressed themselves through. The road trip really helped us see the world.”

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The team of producers includes twice Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Ryan Coogler (Black Panther, Creed) and Nicks via Proximity Media, Bowers, Sean Havey, and Chris L. Jenkins.

Meanwhile, the executive producers attached to the Hulu documentary are R.J. Cutler and Elise Pearlstein via This Machine, Zinzi Coogler, and Sev Ohanian via Proximity.

While Anthem is slated to hit Hulu on June 28, it is not clear if it will be available for international viewers since there is no update on the global streaming rights for Disney+ and Star+.