News Story

A sitcom produced entirely by artificial intelligence has premiered on YouTube.

No Big Deal, written by Andrew Dickinson, was produced by UK AI studio ModeLabs.ai.

Set inside the chaotic world of venture capital, No Big Deal follows an eccentric team at investment firm Janus as they search for the next billion-pound business idea usually with disastrous results.

Dickinson said he originally planned to make the pilot through “traditional television production” but found the process would be “slow and prohibitively expensive”.

He added: “When I met the team at ModeLabs, I realised AI offered an entirely new way to bring the project to life.

“Making the pilot wasn’t simply a case of pressing a button.

“Every shot, camera movement, performance, line reading, location and visual detail had to be carefully planned, refined and recreated through an iterative creative process between the writing and production teams.

“Even while we were making it, the script was rewritten more than 65 times.

“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve created together. I still laugh at these characters, and I hope audiences will too.”

Dan Hawthorne, from ModeLabs.ai, said: “Nobody questions whether the CGI in a Marvel film is ‘cheating’. People judge entertainment by how it makes them feel, not by the tools used to create it.

“No Big Deal is brilliantly written and genuinely funny. AI isn’t the punchline it’s simply the production technology that made an ambitious independent comedy possible.

“We’re incredibly proud of what our team has achieved. Combining emerging AI technology with talented writers and filmmakers has opened up exciting new creative possibilities, and we’re grateful to Andrew for trusting us with his vision.”

ModeLabs’ website says it is “an AI-powered content production studio specialising in creating high-quality, campaign-grade visuals for ecommerce, fashion and lifestyle brands”.