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Aronofsky’s AI-Animated Series Launches on Time’s YouTube, Draws Backlash Over Visual Flaws

The project pairs machine-generated imagery with SAG-AFTRA voice performances under a TIME Studios rollout backed by Salesforce.

Overview

  • Two episodes and a trailer premiered January 29 on Time’s YouTube channel, with weekly installments planned through 2026 to coincide with specific Revolutionary-era anniversaries.
  • The series is produced by Darren Aronofsky’s AI studio Primordial Soup in collaboration with Google DeepMind, with TIME Studios serving as distributor.
  • Producers describe the effort as artist-led use of generative tools intended to expand storytelling possibilities rather than replace craft.
  • Viewers and critics flagged visible AI artifacts, including deformed hands, off-kilter lip sync, and garbled on-screen text such as a misspelled “America,” with social posts ridiculing the visuals.
  • The episodes use union voice actors and an original score, and the production cites Salesforce support and Slack-based collaboration across a dispersed creative team.