A classic 80s sitcom on Netflix looks really weird. Is it AI’s fault?

Fans of the 1980’s-era sitcom A Different World were initially thrilled to hear that the Cosby Show spinoff was making the jump to Netflix, with all six seasons presented in HD quality. Then they started watching, and noticed there was, indeed, something very different about how A Different World looks on streaming.

Skin looks waxy. The text on signs looks strangely garbled. Faces in the background appear squished, sometimes even a tad monstrous. The image as a whole looks like an animated watercolor painting. Everything looks… well, weird, bordering on grotesque.

“Whether it’s Maggie, Jaleesa, Kimberly, or Ron, once familiar faces instead melted into unrecognizable visual goop,” MovieWeb’s Salvatore Cento complained.

So, what’s going on? We’ve reached out to Netflix for details, but as Cento notes, it appears “AI has now been unceremoniously injected” into classic sitcoms such as A Different World.

Netflix

The use of AI to upscale older TV shows and movies has been a hot topic lately, and it was reignited several months ago when a fresh suite of 4K remasters of James Cameron’s Aliens, The Abyss, and True Lies was released.

Discerning viewers noted a distinct lack of film grain on those 4K reissues, particularly True Lies, as well as the waxy-skin problem, a telltale sign of an AI touchup. Cameron has vigorously defended the remasters, telling the nitpickers to “get a life.”

Of course, it’s not just big-budget films that are getting the AI treatment. Just last week, Variety reported that all 222 episodes of Roseanne have been AI-upscaled to HD, and are now airing on CMT, TV Land, Peacock, and Cozy TV.

Netflix

To be fair, the use of AI upscaling isn’t necessarily a bad thing, provided it’s used judiciously. David Fincher, for example, employed AI for the recent 4K remaster of Seven, tweaking elements here and there without turning the image into a moving waxwork.

But I can also see how AI can allow for quick-and-dirty HD or 4K upscaling, especially when it comes to older TV shows that were shot on standard-definition video rather than film. (Examples of filmed TV sitcoms include Friends and Seinfeld, both of which recently got highly praised 4K remasters).

I haven’t seen the 4K upscale of Roseanne, but I have seen the HD version of A Different World on Netflix, and it certainly looks like it a got a heavy-handed AI makeover.

It’s not clear who’s responsible—or blameworthy—for A Different World’s new look. For its part, Netflix may simply have received the show’s re-done assets from the current rights owner.

Still, if you’ve been looking forward to revisiting A Different World on Netflix, don’t do it on a 80-inch 4K display, or even on an iPad. Maybe try your phone instead.