Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said he’s “thrilled” with the company’s first use of generative AI in a show, and he wants you to be thrilled too.
The title is The Eternaut, a sci-fi drama out of Argentina based on a beloved comic. The AI-generated shot in question shows a collapsing building in Buenos Aires. According to Sarandos, the sequence came together ten times faster and far cheaper than traditional VFX. “Without AI,” he told analysts, “it just wouldn’t have been feasible for a show in that budget.”
So here it is: the first Netflix title with fully AI-generated footage in its final cut.
The Public Narrative: AI as a Creative Tool
Sarandos framed the use of AI as a way to help creators make films and series “better, not just cheaper.” He described it as a boost to storytelling and production workflows. “This is real people doing real work with better tools,” he said, noting that creators are already benefiting in areas like pre-visualization and shot planning.
Netflix has positioned the use of AI as a creative enabler, something that enhances rather than replaces. But this narrative is doing a lot of PR work.
Pattern Recognition: Cost Wins Over Creativity
Sarandos also tied this experiment to Netflix’s earlier use of AI in Rodrigo Prieto’s Pedro Páramo, where AI-based de-ageing effects reportedly cost less than the entire VFX budget on The Irishman. This is not a one-off. It is part of a broader trend where AI is used to reduce spend on traditionally expensive processes and scale output without scaling cost.
Tensions in the Industry: The AI Reckoning Continues
This all comes at a time when AI remains a flashpoint in the industry. Hollywood’s 2023 strikes were driven in part by concerns over AI replacing creative labor. While Sarandos insists that AI is in service of human creators, the lines are blurring, particularly in high-cost departments like VFX that are already under pressure.
Strong Quarter, Stronger Message
Netflix also reported strong Q2 results: 11 billion dollars in revenue, up 16% year over year, helped by the final season of Squid Game and a growing advertising business expected to double in size this year. But the real story is not in the numbers. It is in the evolving strategy. AI is no longer experimental for Netflix. It is a core part of the production model.
The Take
Netflix did not use AI on The Eternaut because it was a creatively groundbreaking project. They used it because it was cheaper and faster. That is the whole story.
Sarandos is pushing the idea that AI expands storytelling, but the real driver here is cost containment, especially for international productions. The fact that this AI-powered sequence got done ten times faster is not a creative win. It is a budgetary one.
Netflix wants to scale global content while keeping costs low. Generative AI is quickly becoming a shortcut to premium-looking sequences without the need for premium spending. It worked here because the traditional alternative was unaffordable.
So yes, the building collapse looked great. But let’s not confuse “we could not have done this otherwise” with “this is the future of creativity.” This is the future of cost optimization. And for Netflix, that is more than enough.
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