Netflix admits using Gen AI for one of its shows to cut costs
During a call with investors last week, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos revealed that the Argentine series The Eternaut, which premiered in April, features 'the very first GenAI final footage to appear on screen in a Netflix, Inc. original series or film.'
'The creators wanted to show a building collapsing in Buenos Aires. So our iLine team which is the production innovation group within Scanline, Netflix's in-house visual effects studio partnered with the show's creative team using AI-powered tools,' Sarandos explained. 'That VFX sequence was completed 10 times faster than it would have been using traditional visual effects tools and workflows. And the cost of producing it through conventional means would simply not have been feasible for a show with that budget.'
He emphasised that generative AI enabled the production team to deliver certain sequences faster and at a lower cost.
However, the use of generative AI in content creation has sparked a mixed response in the entertainment industry. Critics argue that it can create content using others' work without their consent and fear it could replace human jobs. AI was a major point of contention during the 2023 Hollywood writers' strike. Under the new agreement, studios are prohibited from using AI to write or edit scripts that have already been written by a human writer.
Sarandos previously stated that Netflix's use of generative AI will not interfere with its commitment to 'telling great stories.'
Tools like OpenAI's Sora and Google's Veo 3 have intensified concerns in the industry, as they allow users to generate Hollywood-quality footage from simple text prompts raising fears about job security and creative livelihoods.
Netflix has plans to introduce interactive ads powered by generative AI during shows and movies for ad-tier subscribers starting in 2026.
The Eternaut is Argentina's most ambitious sci-fi series. The production is based on the Eisner Award-winning graphic novel The Eternaut (El Eternauta), written by Héctor G. Oesterheld and illustrated by Francisco Solano López. The comic was originally published in installments from 1957 to 1959, and later released as a single volume in 2015.
When the show debuted earlier this year, The Eternaut quickly topped Netflix's global Top 10 for non-English-language series. It also broke into the overall Top 10 in several countries, including the US, Brazil, France, Germany, and Spain. A second season of The Eternaut has already been confirmed
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