Netflix just used generative AI in a series

Updated July 25, 2025, 1:56 p.m. | By East Coast Breakfast

Netflix has officially unlocked a can of worms by using AI VFX in a TV series!

Netflix has officially entered its AI era.

For the first time ever, the streaming giant admitted to using generative AI in one of its original TV shows, El Eternauta, an Argentinian sci-fi thriller about survivors of a toxic snowfall.

The groundbreaking moment was a building collapse in Buenos Aires, that was brought to life not by an army of VFX artists, but by AI-powered tools.

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According to Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, the visual effects sequence was completed 10 times faster than traditional VFX methods and at a fraction of the cost.

He described it not as a job-stealer, but as a creative enhancer: “Real people doing real work with better tools.”

Now here’s where it gets murky…

The use of AI in film and TV has become one of the most divisive topics in Hollywood. In 2023, both writers and actors went on strike, with AI sitting at the heart of their demands.

They fought to ensure that the technology doesn’t replace human jobs or undermine creative rights.

Many fear that faster, cheaper AI could mean fewer jobs behind the camera.

However, Ted insists it’s about unlocking creative potential, not replacing it, claiming AI is already helping creators with pre-visualisation, planning, and storytelling.

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Now whether you see this as a revolution or a red flag, one thing is pretty clear: AI is no longer the future of film. It’s officially the present.

So, is this the dawn of a bold new cinematic age… or the beginning of the end for human-made magic?

Let’s just hope the credits don’t start reading: written, directed, and emotionally manipulated by GPT-9.