A UK AI studio has produced the pilot episode of a British sitcom, in what is believed to be the first time a sitcom has been written by a human and produced entirely using AI. No Big Deal is out now, free on YouTube, and the episode can be viewed here.
The studio is ModeLabs.ai. The writer and creator is Andrew Dickinson, who worked as an angel investor and investment manager before writing the series, and who also wrote all of the original music, performed and recorded with the musician Andy Pike.
What the show is about
No Big Deal is set in the world of venture capital, at an investment firm called Janus that is chasing the next billion-pound business idea, usually with disastrous results. Pitches taken seriously by the firm include fart-proof underwear, clinical toilets and questionable items of sex furniture, and every promising investment ends in comic disaster.
The main characters are Derek Tudor, a brilliant but unpredictable investor who cannot keep his thoughts to himself; Lydia de Mabro, the firm’s de facto leader after its only successful investment earned her a board seat; Perry Kent, an experienced investment banker treating Janus as a stepping stone to a US Green Card; and John Stevens, a well-meaning but spectacularly underqualified founder who inherited the money to start the business.
How it was made
The pilot was first intended as a conventional television production.
“I originally planned to make the pilot through traditional television production, but it quickly became clear that the process would be slow and prohibitively expensive. When I met the team at ModeLabs, I realised AI offered an entirely new way to bring the project to life.”
Production was iterative rather than automated, and the script was rewritten more than 65 times while the episode was being made.
“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.”
Dickinson’s own verdict on the finished episode:
“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve created together. I still laugh at these characters, and I hope audiences will too.”
The studio’s position on AI
Dan Hawthorne of ModeLabs.ai said the technology was a means of production rather than a selling point.
“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.”
He added that the project had widened what the studio could take on.
“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.”
Episode one is up on YouTube now, free, here.
No Big Deal also has a presence on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X and Reddit.
