Netflix
Netflix is seemingly using AI on old sitcoms
Netflix has been caught seemingly using AI to upscale the classic sitcom A Different World for modern TVs. The result has essentially stripped the series of its details.
The 1987-1993 sitcom was added to Netflix in HD by rights holder Carsey-Werner back in early 2025, which remastered the series using AI upscaling technology to sharpen the show’s original low-resolution footage.
The result, however, has stripped the series of its background details and has caused uncanny continuity issues.
Netflix seemingly caught using AI to upscale the classic 80s sitcom A Different World
A viral clip from season 4, episode 13 of A Different Family shows Dwayne Wayne’s glasses disappearing entirely as he touches his head, while background posters dissolve into illegible AI-generated symbols instead of readable text.
Why is Netflix using AI on A Different World??!! This is atrocious and unnecessary! Watch Dwayne’s glasses literally disappear off of his face and the posters have that AI jibberish (season 4 episode 13)
Why would they do this??? pic.twitter.com/dbaovXVaHg
— King Roy (@RoyIsThaTruth) September 16, 2026
We are quickly entering a world where only DVDs & VHS tapes are to be trusted. https://t.co/zY70EWVffq
— KennyLauderdale (@KennyLauderdal3) September 18, 2026
and it’s quite literally unwatchable bc of it https://t.co/a0ZtAKWIDC
— • (@chaoticblkgirl) September 17, 2026
The AI upscaling issues extend beyond just the one viral moment, as the opening credits reportedly show mangled hands, misaligned facial features, bungled logos, and smeary lines. Main characters Dwayne and Whitley have appeared visibly distorted in multiple episodes.
The prevalence of AI has led to a spike of physical media purchasing among Gen Z, as its now becoming the only guaranteed way to watch something in the way it was originally intended.
A Different Family was a spin-off of The Cosby Show that followed Denise Huxtable as a sophomore at the predominantly black Hillman College. Denise shares her dorm room with divorced freshman Jaleesa and Maggie, one of Hillman’s few white students.