Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) released a new documentary with a title that speaks for itself: Why Louisiana Ain’t Mississippi… or Any Place Else!. The two-part, four-hour documentary will premiere on December 11 and 12 at 7:00 p.m.

“It’s not going to be your traditional documentary,” says Jay Dardenne, who serves as the producer, writer, and host of the documentary “We’re going to talk about so many different facets of Louisiana, and that’s really what got me so interested in learning more about how we’re so different.”

The current Commissioner of Administration, and a former Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State, Dardenne explores Louisiana’s “human gumbo”—the diverse mixture of ethnicities that created Louisiana’s unique culture. It also tells the story of Louisiana’s disproportionate contributions to America’s music, arts, sports, history and politics.

“The show itself is a gumbo. It’s part history lesson, part travelogue, part cultural exploration, and we’re doing it all with some unexpected humor,” says LPB Executive Producer Linda Midgett. “We’ve really pushed the envelope with our storytelling and are excited to share this with Louisiana.”

Viewers will travel far and wide across the state to hear from an eclectic group of eyewitnesses and experts on “why Louisiana ain’t Mississippi.” Some highlights include musicians James Burton, and Grammy-winning Irma Thomas, and  Terrance Simien. LPB enlisted a cast of Louisiana-born comedians to script and perform some of the humorous comedic re-creations. The Oscar and Emmy award-winning William Joyce created animations that appear throughout the documentary, telling the story with wit and humor.

LPB is also collaborating with visual documentarian Carol M. Highsmith on a photographic companion book to capture “Why Louisiana Ain’t Mississippi” with over 250 photos featuring the people, places and culture of Louisiana. Highsmith has visually documentedAmerica for more than 40 years and she is donating her life’s work—including photographs of Louisiana—to the Library of Congress, where it will be preserved in a historic photo collection.

Live streaming for Why Louisiana Ain’t Mississippi… or Any Place Else! will be available at www.lpb.org and with the LPB App. Learn more here.