AI is already transforming fields ranging from programming to medicine to finance, but it seems that TV production could be next.
The Amazon Prime Video series House of David, a sweeping biblical epic chronicling the rise of Israel’s most celebrated king, has heavily used generative AI for its visual effects. According to John Erwin, the show’s creator and co-showrunner, this marks a pioneering step in television production—one where artificial intelligence becomes a creative partner rather than a looming threat.
“We are the first, or among the first, to use generative AI tools to create some of the scope and scale that would’ve been otherwise impossible,” Erwin proudly shared in an interview. The series blends traditional filmmaking with cutting-edge technology, with episode six featuring a standout scene entirely driven by generative AI tools. While real actors brought the performances to life, the AI-powered visuals elevated the production to a level of grandeur that Erwin says was once unimaginable.
Out of the 850 visual effects shots in the show’s debut season, 73 were crafted using generative AI as “the engine to the car,” as Erwin puts it. But this isn’t just about numbers—it’s about a fundamental shift in how TV is made. “These tools are more human, more creative, and more collaborative than any other tools I’ve ever used in a VFX process,” he explained, drawing from his experience as a showrunner, AI artist, and former animator. For Erwin, the technology isn’t a replacement for human artistry but a new set of “paintbrushes” that amplify what’s possible when placed in skilled hands.
The integration of AI into House of David also challenges two pervasive fears in the entertainment industry: that it will stifle creativity and eliminate jobs. Erwin dismisses both concerns with conviction. “We’ve found the complete opposite is true,” he said. The tools have empowered him to be more creative as a showrunner, given actors greater control over their digital performances, and enabled department heads to collaborate on visual effects in real-time during filming. Far from cutting jobs, the innovation made the show itself possible—employing nearly 700 people on a production that many in the industry deemed unfeasible due to budget constraints.
Erwin and his team live by a simple mantra: “We do not compromise. We innovate.” When skeptics told them their vision for House of David couldn’t be realized within a reasonable budget, they turned to AI to prove otherwise. The result? A visually stunning series that pushes boundaries without breaking the bank. “Technology and leaps forward in technology are essential to the journey of cinema,” Erwin emphasized, crediting Amazon and Prime Video for supporting their experimentation with AI in a way that’s legal, and aligned with industry guild guidelines.
House of David might be the first sign that generative AI might be finding use-cases in traditional TV and cinema. Thus far, AI generated video was clunky, often had visible defects, and was hard to create exactly as the creators intended. But video generation technology has been improving rapidly over the last few quarters, and AI generated effects will now appear on a mainstream show on a major OTT platform. And it appears that with a major show adopting generative AI — and finding that it greatly improved their capabilities and productivity — it could open the floodgates of AI being used more extensively in film and media industries.