LOS GATOS—In a revelation that could make Black Mirror look like a sitcom, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos confessed yesterday that the streaming giant’s “original” shows are actually AI-generated mashups of Reddit fanfiction, scraped straight from the platform’s wildest threads. The bombshell, exposed in a leaked internal memo, reveals that hits like Stranger Things and The Witcher owe their existence to an AI dubbed “FanFic Fusion,” which turns r/FanTheories posts into Emmy-worthy scripts. Anchored by the faint truth that Netflix’s content often feels algorithmically tailored, this tale’s wilder than a Squid Game plot twist.

The Reddit Script Factory

Sarandos, lounging in a Netflix-branded beanbag during a virtual town hall, laid bare the operation. “We’ve been letting an AI raid Reddit for years,” he admitted, gesturing to a server rack humming with fanfic data. “Why pay writers when r/FanFiction’s got Bridgerton vampire AUs and Ozark space opera drafts for free?” The memo details how FanFic Fusion, trained on millions of Reddit posts, churns out scripts by blending user-submitted plots—like The Crown but with time-traveling corgis—into polished series, complete with cliffhangers and product placement.

The process is as chaotic as it sounds. The AI scans subreddits like r/SciFi and r/AlternateHistory, cherry-picking ideas like “You but Joe’s a sentient Roomba” or “Umbrella Academy with dinosaurs.” Human editors then sprinkle in Netflix’s signature gloss—think moody lighting and a pop-heavy soundtrack. Sarandos bragged that the system’s so efficient, it turned a 3 a.m. Reddit thread about Witcher mermaids into a Season 4 subplot in under a week. The catch? Reddit users get zero credit or cash, sparking fury among fanfic writers.

Fan Backlash and Streaming Shenanigans

The leak ignited a firestorm. Reddit mods, smelling a payday, demanded royalties, with one declaring, “My Stranger Things AU is literally Season 5!” Fans are torn: some are thrilled their late-night posts became Netflix hits, while others feel robbed, with a user lamenting, “I wrote Money Heist as a high school AU, and now it’s a global sensation?” A viral petition calls for Netflix to share profits with Reddit creators, while a rogue coder claimed to have hacked FanFic Fusion, threatening to flood Netflix with Tiger King musical episodes.

Netflix’s response? Double down. Sarandos argued the AI “elevates raw creativity,” comparing it to “a chef turning random ingredients into a Michelin-star dish.” He teased a “Reddit Rewind” feature, letting subscribers vote on fanfic-inspired plots for new shows, like Cobra Kai but set in a dystopian mall. Critics, however, aren’t buying it, with a Hollywood writer’s guild rep calling it “plagiarism with extra steps.” Meanwhile, streaming rivals like Hulu are eyeing Reddit for their own AI experiments.

Fanfic Fortune or Creative Heist?

As Sarandos retreats to “optimize FanFic Fusion’s algorithm,” the streaming world’s in chaos. Is Netflix’s AI-powered fanfic factory a brilliant hack or a shameless theft of Reddit’s collective imagination? One thing’s certain: if your next Netflix binge feels like a fevered r/FanTheories post, it’s probably because it is.

Carlton Banks is a satirist who’s now scouring his old Reddit account for the next Netflix blockbuster.