EXCLUSIVE: The Wire star Clarke Peters is narrating an eight-part podcast, Founding Fathers: An American Dream.

The series will look at the stories and figures that contributed to the birth of the United States of America, as the country marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Noiser is launching Founding Fathers series on June 5.

Founding Fathers will go from the stirrings of revolution to the long and bloody fight for independence, and on into the early years of the American republic. It will include testimony from the likes of Jane Kamensky, President and CEO of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation; Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor, who authored of American Revolutions; and Lindsay Chervinsky, Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library).

The series also features contributions from people directly connected to the revolution and its legacy, including descendants of families enslaved by Thomas Jefferson, a Massachusetts teenager who fought in the Continental Army, and Lord Charles Cornwallis, the British general often remembered as “the man who lost America.”

The series will also challenge long-held beliefs about the revolution and question what it meant for the various groups caught up in it.

“As we mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, it’s exciting to be part of an incredible podcast that paints the history of America in vivid color,” said Peters. “What I love about Founding Fathers: An American Dream is that it goes beyond legend to uncover truths and perspectives that many people will be hearing for the first time ever.”

Peters is best known for roles such as smooth-talking cop Lester Freamon in The Wire and Albert Lambreaux in Treme and Otis Da 5 Bloods, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA. Most recently, he was in Agatha Christie adaptation Towards Zero and German historical drama Bonhoeffer.

Pascal Hughes, CEO of Noiser, said: “The story of America’s founding is one of the most powerful and contested stories in modern history.  With the guiding voice of Clarke Peters and in true Noiser fashion we wanted to dive deeper, beyond the famous names like Washington and Jefferson.  We wanted to hear from descendants and historians who can reveal the people and perspectives often left out of traditional retellings.”

Like Noiser’s recent history productions include Titanic and Real Vikings. Like those series, Founding Fathers will combines narration, original music, immersive sound design, interviews and personal stories to create the format.