i’ve been thinking a lot about how the comeback and hacks handled the whole “AI in entertainment” thing. not in a preachy way, not in a fear‑mongering way, just… two totally different women navigating two totally different versions of the same machine. it’s wild how both shows manage to show the pros and cons without flattening it into a take. it’s just character. it’s just story. that’s the part i love.
i won’t get into what i’m doing with AI in my own work because i kind of like keeping that blurry, but i will say this: watching how those writers folded the topic into their worlds made me want to dig deeper. not to copy anything, but to understand the mechanics of it, the psychology of it, the way it can be humiliating and empowering at the same time depending on who’s holding the mic.
the comeback especially… i wish more people talked about it. it’s my little hidden gem. the way it handles vanity, desperation, reinvention, and then throws ai into the mix like a final cosmic joke lol it’s honestly some of the sharpest writing i’ve ever seen. hacks does its own version of that too, just in a different register. both shows made me want to interrogate the topic in my own stuff, but from my angle, my world, my characters.
anyway, if you’re writing anything that touches fame, relevance, or the weird ways tech keeps reshaping the industry, those two shows are basically a masterclass. they made me want to research, experiment, and figure out what feels true for me.
I’m not watching either show, so I’m confused. Are the shows using AI in some way?
Or are the characters commenting on AI in some way? How is it used in the story?
hey mike, i totally get the confusion especially given your unfamiliarity with both shows.
so they both handle it in different ways.
in the comeback, the ai angle is literal. valerie gets offered this “big break” role and the whole script she’s supposed to star in was secretly written by an algorithm (AL) lol. the comedy comes from how humiliating and surreal that is for her, and how the industry treats it like no big deal.
hacks isn’t using ai in the plot the same way, but it’s very much about the algorithm era. deborah’s whole arc is shaped by chasing virality, relevance, and the pressure of performing for this invisible machine that decides who matters. it’s more thematic than literal.
i just love how both shows approach the topic from totally different emotional angles. it made me want to dig into the subject more for my own work, but in my own way.