Amazon is stepping into the future of television with a new investment that could change how we watch and create shows forever. The company is backing Fable Studio’s Showrunner, an artificial intelligence-powered streaming platform where users can generate entire animated series with nothing more than a prompt and a photo. As buzz builds and creators line up to join, many across Hollywood and beyond are already raising their eyebrows. Read on to learn more about Showrunner and how it could spark a new era of content creation.
Inside Amazon’s big bet on AI-powered TV
Showrunner is the latest project from Fable Studio, a startup that made headlines in 2023 for creating an AI-generated South Park-style episode that went viral. The clip—written, voiced, and animated entirely by AI—was powered by Fable’s proprietary model called SHOW-1 and released during the height of the SAG-AFTRA strike, which focused heavily on the role of AI in creative industries. While the video stirred controversy for using South Park’s likeness without permission, Fable stated that it was merely an “experimental, non-commercial endeavor” to test AI’s creative capabilities.
Now, that experiment has evolved into a full-blown product. With Showrunner, Fable is aiming to put content creation into the hands of everyday users. Billed as the “Netflix of AI,” the platform allows people to create original animated shows from scratch or add new scenes and characters to existing ones using nothing more than text prompts and uploaded images.
Fable CEO and co-founder Edward Saatchi says they are already in talks with major Hollywood studios like Disney to license popular intellectual properties (IP) for use on the platform. While it remains unclear whether some of Showrunner’s early content is based on licensed material or unapproved training data, the studio’s ambitions are undeniably bold.
So far, the platform—which launched on July 30—hosts original series like Exit Valley, a tech industry satire with Family Guy-inspired visuals, and Everything Is Fine, which leans into a Tim Burton-esque aesthetic. These shows demonstrate the platform’s potential and hint at what AI-generated storytelling might look like in the near future.
Showrunner is currently available in alpha mode via showrunner.xyz and Discord. For now, users can explore and watch content for free. But according to Saatchi, the platform will eventually adopt a subscription model, with users paying $10 to $20 per month for credits to generate their own AI-driven episodes.
With Amazon’s backing, Showrunner is no longer just a tech experiment. It’s now part of a larger conversation about the future of entertainment, where anyone could become a creator with the help of AI.
Can artificial intelligence replace Hollywood?
The rise of AI-generated content raises a pressing question: Can AI replace Hollywood? For now, the answer is not quite, but it’s already changing the rules.
Showrunner’s ability to generate full episodes, complete with scripts, animation, and voices, highlights how quickly AI is evolving. It lowers the barrier to entry for aspiring storytellers, allowing anyone with an idea and a prompt to become a showrunner themselves. But while the technology is impressive, it still lacks the emotional depth, originality, and nuance that define human storytelling.
Hollywood isn’t just about production. It’s about performance, creative vision, and the collaborative energy of writers, directors, and actors. AI may replicate structure and style, but it can’t yet replicate the soul of a great story. And with growing legal and ethical concerns like copyright issues, consent, and fair compensation, the road ahead remains complex.
Rather than replacing Hollywood, AI is more likely to transform it. Tools like Showrunner could complement human creativity, streamline certain production tasks, and even inspire new genres of storytelling.
Source: Variety