ITV Studios partners with radio host Steve Penk on AI-powered digital comedy

Steve Penk’s Animal Radio FM uses Almation’s AI tool Omnigen

ITV Studios’ Creative Network in the UK has partnered with radio host and prankster Steve Penk on a digital-first comedy series called Steve Penk’s Animal Radio FM.

Penk rose to fame in the 1990s, known for prank calls he would make live on air during his radio shows. Set in an animated pirate radio station run by animals, and powered by AI, Steve Penk’s Animal Radio FM reimagines this for digital viewers.

The animals broadcast chaos to unsuspecting human callers, with human-like radio hosts reliving some of Penk’s most outrageous prank calls.

The show’s production design, AI image and video generation, music composition, sound design and final editing were created by James Abadi, who developed the format’s aesthetic using Almation’s Omnigen.

Launching today, the series is available via dedicated YouTube and TikTok channels. ITV Studios’ Zoo 55 will distribute the series across its wider digital ecosystem and social platforms.

Abadi, who is creative director of Abadi Films, said: “We wanted to build a world that felt simultaneously believable and completely ridiculous. The idea that a secret pirate radio station run entirely by animals is responsible for some of Britain’s most famous prank calls immediately felt funny. AI has allowed us to create a rich cinematic universe around Steve’s archive and tell these stories in a way that simply wouldn’t have been possible before.”

Mike Beale, MD of Creative Network at ITV Studios, said: “Our original principle was to explore our new AI tool, Omnigen from AImation, which we licensed to enhance our pitch materials and produce proof of concepts, but then this amazing format idea presented itself and it seems like the perfect concept to push into original digital content with Zoo 55.”