Lincoln Studies Director Brings History to Life in TV Series

Jacob K. Friefeld, Ph.D., director of the Center for Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois Springfield, has been featured as a historical expert in the Magnolia Network and HBO Max series Back to the Frontier. In this new limited-run documentary-series event, Friefeld lends scholarly insight to a bold experiment in immersive historical living as three modern American families are transported into the life of 1880s homesteaders.

Filmed on location in rural western Canada, near Calgary, the series follows families from Florida, Alabama, and Texas—the Halls, the Lopers, and the Hannah‑Riggs—as they spend a summer without electricity, plumbing, or technology. Their daily routines encompass frontier-era challenges such as milking cows, preserving food by canning, and maintaining cabins built with rustic authenticity.

Dr. Friefeld’s contributions help contextualize the show’s broader historical themes, particularly the inclusion and representation of Black families and same‑sex couples in homesteading narratives, groups often overlooked in conventional frontier history. Through interviews and expert commentary, he provides viewers with perspective on how diverse communities shaped pioneer life and the notion of opportunity on the American frontier.

Premiering on July 10, 2025, on Magnolia and HBO Max with new episodes airing each Thursday, Back to the Frontier combines education and entertainment in a format meant to engage modern audiences with hands‑on history.

The University of Illinois Springfield said it's proud to see its Center for Lincoln Studies represented in a widely accessible and thoughtfully produced series. Dr. Friefeld’s involvement underscores the Center’s mission to ensure that the legacies of Abraham Lincoln and his era reflect the full diversity of those who lived through that transformative period in American history.