Many large technology companies, particularly those involved in TV hardware, have made a major push into original content. Although it has had its own free, ad-supported TV channels (FAST) for some time, it is too late for this party. Not for long, however, as the company will release its first special, a short romance film, on TCLtv+ this summer. There’s just one small catch: TCL is using generative AI to create original content for its platform, and the early signs don’t bode well.
The company has released the first trailer for Next stop Paris, which calls it “the first AI-powered love story.” TCL used both human writers and actors for motion capture and voice performances. Although artists in the US, Canada, UK and Poland are working on the project, it relied heavily on generative AI.
“I’m excited about this opportunity to differentiate ourselves with original programming. AIGC [artificial intelligence generated content] This is the beginning for us,” said Chris Regina, TCL’s chief content officer . “It’s a new approach and it makes sense for us as a technology and hardware company to start there.”
The plot of Next stop ParisAs it is, you see a young woman going to Paris to honeymoon alone after her fiancé runs off with someone in the wedding party. She meets a stranger on the train and the two explore the French capital together.
TCL hopes that original content can help attract viewers to TCLtv+ and help build a brand identity for the company. It’s not entirely fair to judge a film based on a trailer, but that Next stop Paris The clip gives off a terrible first impression for both the project and TCLtv+.
The characters’ appearance changes over time, from a moderately realistic style to the hyperrealism we often see in films like Midjourney, and they convey all the emotion of a dead fish couple. Lip syncing is almost non-existent and the characters move in a very unnatural way.
The trailer feels like your worst fever dream. To say this looks like trash would be an insult to trash. If “content is king,” as Regina put it, Next stop Paris looks like a poor man.
The Hallmark Channel gets a lot of criticism for its romance films and romantic comedies, but at least there’s seriousness and a high level of care behind the channel’s production, which goes a long way toward filling a gap in the movie slate. TCL is also trying to get into this space.
“There is an audience there that watches our worship and we see a gap in the market where theatrical romantic comedies are not as prevalent,” Regina said. “They are a guilty pleasure. You lie under a blanket and watch TV. So that’s the driver.” Additionally, TCL plans to make its original content shoppable and use AI-generated “characters in our shows who can be brand ambassadors and influencers for advertisers.”
Luckily, TCL isn’t just working on AI-generated nonsense. “We are thinking about doing traditional content. So movies, scripted shows, unscripted content, specials,” Regina wrote Next stop Paris with TCL Chief Creative Officer Daniel Smith said. “The next thing we’re brewing is no AI at all.” That’s good, because whatever comes next can’t look much worse Next stop Paris.