Artificial intelligence and vertical video content are breaking down barriers to series commissions and bypassing traditional industry gatekeepers, claims AI entrepreneur Guy Gadney.
Guy Gadney
A knight in shining armour or the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse galloping over the horizon to take your job – Guy Gadney is under no illusions that AI is one of the most divisive subjects in the creative industries right now.
However, the TV executive-turned-AI entrepreneur strongly believes it is the disruptive technology that can empower producers to make shows faster, cheaper and without the need for commissions. The founder and CEO of Charismatic.ai reckons AI has come along at exactly the right time, just as the commission-dependent model of making television is becoming more challenging than ever.
“Traditional longform content is in a state of managed decline,” Gadney says. “Over the past 10 years, there has been a revenue decline of around 60%, while advertising has dropped 77% as advertisers and audiences move into new digital platforms and the creator economy.
“But there is good news. There are new ways of creating content and animation coming through. The microdrama genre is rising 24% on a compound annual growth rate year-on-year. Disney invested in [microdrama platform] DramaBox while Fox invested in [vertical video company] Holywater.
“There are now around 310 microdrama apps out there. This is a shift that has already happened, and now comes AI. Depending on your own perspective, it’s either a knight in shining armour or the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
Charismatic.ai produced Carnival was developed and produced in three weeks
To prove the point, Charismatic’s animated project Carnival won the award for Best AI Generated Production or Use of AI in Animation at C21’s GenerAItion Awards at Content London in December. Scripted using Charismatic’s engine and animated using AI tools by filmmaker Allan Dodgeon, Carnival was selected from a shortlist of seven finalists and more than 100 entries submitted to the competition.
Gadney claims the entire creation, development and production process that went into Carnival was completed by Charismatic.ai in three weeks. The entrepreneur says the process is typical of a new AI-enabled self-commissioning content strategy that any open-minded producer can now leverage.
“At no point did we pitch the idea for Carnival,” he says. “There was no discussion with a commissioner or channel; we’ve gone straight out with the idea into sample episodes to, say, YouTube or TikTok, test and repeat.”
The former Foxtel and BBC Worldwide executive rolled out Charismatic.ai in June 2025, describing it as the world’s first generative AI platform for the creation of microdramas. Marketed at creators, agencies and brands, it claims to generate idea-to-animated narrative content in under 15 minutes. Users input a single prompt to instantly create animated episodic drama.
AI-generated live-action shortform thriller series Águila
The company has also produced AI-generated live-action shortform thriller series Águila, also directed by Dodgeon. The show centres on a trained assassin forced to confront a dark family secret. It was nominated in the Best AI Generated Production or Use of AI in Scripted Entertainment category at the GenerAItion Awards last month.
“I don’t know any UK prodco or broadcaster that’s not putting together a microdrama strategy right now,” he tells C21. “Vertical content is a really valuable stepping stone for the industry. It’s a way to plug revenue shortfalls, reach new audiences, bring work to the entire production sector and open new revenue streams for dormant IP in ways that weren’t previously economically viable.
“If you look at the revenues generated by a company such as [shortform video streaming app] ReelShort, it generated US$700m in 2025. It’s a clear transactional model that really stands up. There’s a lot of money there.”
With major vertical content platforms commissioning significant amounts of programming to fill their libraries and attract customers, Gadney believes that time is of the essence for broadcasters and producers who want to move into this space.
“It’s certainly not too late, but the wave is moving fast,” he warns. “As the market matures, each app is making and acquiring more content. ReelShort, for example, has a library of around 2,000 episodes. Given that the average cost of producing a series is around £300,000 [US$407,000], you’re looking at [an investment of] £3m to £6m just to build the content base that these guys already have.
“So the longer you wait to formulate a microdrama strategy, the further away the competition gets.”
