AI chaos aside, we actually stumbled on a glimmer of real innovation that made us stop mid-scroll.
Meet Showrunner—a bonkers new AI storytelling sandbox from Edward Saatchi, the Oculus Story Studio guy who once tried to make VR films a thing. (Remember those VR headsets gathering dust on shelves? Yeah, him.) After VR storytelling failed to catch fire, he pivoted hard. Now he’s betting big on AI.
Here’s the gist:
Showrunner is basically an AI-powered cartoon machine (Saatchi calls it the “Netflix of AI”). You jump into a Discord server, pick characters and an art style, type a prompt — then boom: the AI spits out a short animated scene with AI voices that kind of sound like real people if you squint.
It’s free for now, but they’re eyeballing a $10–$20 monthly subscription.
Disney and other studios are already circling to license their IP. Which means yes, one day you could literally prompt a brand-new movie with Disney characters and actually watch it.
The big idea isn’t to kill Netflix but to build a whole new creative playground where:
fans co-create stories with their favorite characters
Creators earn revenue shares when their characters appear,
and AI becomes a medium for exploration, not just for cranking out cheap copies of existing shows.
But let’s be honest:
The animations? Awkward and stiff.
The jokes? Meh at best.
Studios own everything you make (giving Roblox/Fortnite vibes where players create, platforms profit)
Plus the whole vibe itself feels more “proof of concept” than “ready for prime time.
Our Take:
Showrunner is messy — but in that fascinating, “you-can’t-look-away” kind of way. It’s not dethroning Netflix anytime soon, and Pixar isn’t losing sleep. But Saatchi’s vision? Bold. He’s betting on a future where entertainment isn’t just passive binge-watching but interactive, user-driven worlds where your favorite characters live far beyond whatever the studio stamped “official.”
Right now, it’s a sandbox full of broken toys — but even those toys hint at something wild. If the tech levels up and creators actually get a fair deal, this could be the first proof that AI isn’t just a cheap content mill for deepfakes — it’s a brand-new storytelling medium.
For now? It’s less “revolution” and more “teaser trailer for the future.” Definitely worth keeping an eye on.
Here’s where you can dive deeper.
