Edward Saatchi, the C.E.O. of Fable Studio, recently told me about a “minor problem” that had been bugging him. His company, the A.I. startup behind Showrunner—the technology responsible for those A.I.-generated episodes of South Park that went viral during the 2023 Hollywood strikes—had just closed a new round of funding led by Amazon. And, Saatchi disclosed, he was hoping to launch an entirely new content platform that would eventually become the “Netflix of A.I.”—his words, not mine. But, he conceded, “we have no idea whether anyone wants what I’m describing.”

The premise of the Showrunner app, which is launching alpha testing this week, is pretty remarkable. In short, Saatchi says that users will be able to generate and distribute TV-episode-length video content using licensed I.P., essentially allowing anyone to create fan-fiction twists on their favorite stories and genres. Then, one day, rather than write your own Lord of the Rings–style story, for example, you might upload a few images, enter a brief prompt, and then—voilà—generate a schlocky version of Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy in which the fellowship is made up of you and your friends. (Not surprisingly, there are still unresolved questions about the use of I.P., which has come to a head on various legal fronts, as documented by my partner Eriq Gardner.)

The alpha version is powered by a model that the company calls Show-2, an evolution of Show-1, which was responsible for the South Park episodes. Show-1 uses a combination of diffusion models (the primary architecture behind A.I. image generators), large language models, and something Fable calls “multi-agent simulation,” which provides world context and continuity. There are about 100,000 people on the waitlist for the alpha version, which will be free at first, and then rise to between $10 and $20 per month for credits that can be used to create programs. Interestingly, creators will also get paid if other users build on top of their original I.P.

In the 24 hours since Saatchi announced the new Showrunner platform, the backlash was swift, from both cinephiles and industry folks wary of a world indifferent to the creative, human labor that goes into making TV shows and films. Naturally, these concerns dovetail with many of the anxieties consuming moviemaking in general, as some studios ink deals with A.I. companies out of a desperate desire to prepare for a revolution in the way content is created and distributed. Notably, Saatchi professes that his software will enhance creativity. He is, after all, the son of advertising legend Maurice Saatchi.

Obviously, there’s a lot to dissect here, so I called up Saatchi to discuss where he sees all of this heading. Our conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Ian Krietzberg: Is the idea behind Showrunner to supplement Hollywood rather than break it? To work with creators rather than displace them?

Edward Saatchi: I think that’s right. But it also opens up non-Hollywood creators to be able to create their own story—and their own story world. It creates the possibility of a movie that could surpass the original. When I spoke with the head of one of the studios about this, they were like, “Edward, if you try to do that, not only will I not help you, but I’ll do everything in my power to stop you.” But other people who have played video games are like, “Yeah, that seems to be the direction things are going in.”

Among the studios you’ve talked to, is there a concern about a flush of A.I. content devaluing the original I.P.?

I think there’s the old, true concern of, does social media cannibalize? Does gaming cannibalize? There’s a lot of openness now, especially because we make clear that you own the story. We have our own shows, and we want people to make their own. In terms of I.P. holders—and we’re buying up I.P. as well—I think there’s a feeling of, If we’re going to treat this as an artistic medium, then that starts to become more exciting, more interesting, and more sort of infinite. This is a great way to feel a sense of ownership over that world.

One of the shows we’re working on is a high-school show. We were trying to think: What is the next great high-school show that dominates the cultural conversation in America? We thought, maybe the next great high-school show isn’t one show, but 7,000 shows that the people of Akron High are uploading themselves, with their parents, their teachers, as characters, and every day is a kind of narrative contest as to what actually happened that day, scene by scene. It’s very much not what exists currently, and that fits with what I see as the trajectory for A.I.—a new medium that’s playable, that’s remixable, that’s multiplayer. But that can’t just be for one-off memes. There has to be a path for this to become a true artistic medium.

What’s the business model for this, and how are the conversations going with I.P. holders?

The model is subscription- and asset-library-based. People can buy characters, they can buy sets. They can create them, too. So let’s say it’s an original world. In our model, the creator builds out their show and says, “Hey, here’s the pilot. Why don’t you, my fans, go and mess with it?” Then when people pay to make content with that show, and interact with the showrunner, the creator gets compensated in a rev share.

In terms of conversations with the studios, the two things that have made them more comfortable are, one, that the I.P. holder owns all the I.P., and all the derivative I.P. being created; then, in some cases, people want it to be very closed-off, so users can’t share outside. For some people, that’s been important, while others are saying, “There must be something more here for how powerful it is”—meaning, it’s an opportunity for new revenue, not just cost-cutting.

Broadly speaking, where do you see the A.I. media push going? We’ve seen advanced VFX, face-swapping, and de-aging. We’ve also seen hints at fully A.I.-generated content.

I think about this stuff all the time. Since we’re treating this as a new medium—rather than a way to make the old medium more efficient, or to improve the cost structure of the visual effects industry—I can imagine a future where ILM releases a Star Wars model. It’s been directed by Dave Filoni [George Lucas’s heir apparent], and the model has a clear understanding of Star Wars, but also environmental storytelling, so that as you’re prompting, you’re discovering things that they’ve put into it.

So it’s going from playing defense—This movie used to take 1,000 people, and now it’s going to take 90 people, which is pretty grim—to 700 people tried to create this massive story universe for you. Basically, in addition to a new movie in the cinema, there would be a Star Wars model, where you can build out your own stories, all of which are owned by Disney. You pay for the privilege, but you can also go really deep into that world. You can tell a story about a planet that’s your dream planet, a bar on that planet, and whatever goes on within it.

I think there’s a big opportunity to think of the model as a work of art, and something that can be directed. Maybe the artist becomes like Ed Harris in The Truman Show, building out a world. You could see a Paramount+ or Disney+ where people are paying $5 extra to be able to create their own stories, paying for the privilege to be able to create within it.

Art has been getting devalued as content for a long time. How would this not devalue it even further?

I was just watching James Cameron interview George Lucas, and he was saying about Star Wars, “Oh, it was very political. And the rebels would be called terrorists today.” And George Lucas was like, “They were the Viet Cong.” That’s what it should be. It should be a work of art, an artist genuinely creating a simulation story world filled with environmental storytelling and these moral things. I think that’s exciting. That’s what I hope we can do—it’s not a tool, but a work of art in and of itself that you can explore by prompting.

I’m not sure where the audience would be on something like this.

I talk about that a lot. We know people want movies. We have no idea whether anyone wants what I’m describing. Minor problem.