AI-generated ‘Seinfeld’ parody broke, but returns with dark twist

The AI-generated “Seinfeld” parody that rose to fame online appears to have broken, then returned with a focus on existential dread and a generally bleak tone.

“The show has broken out of the loop and is now ‘working’ again but it feels darker,” 404 Media reporter Jason Koebler posted on X. “Characters are convulsing, water is flowing upwards out of the sink instead of down, they move in creepy ways, clipping through each other and furniture.”

The “Seinfeld” parody, “Nothing, Forever,” started streaming non-stop online in December 2022 and has over 170,000 followers. Humans don’t write, direct, draw or voice the computer animated show featuring old-school graphics. It’s instead powered entirely by AI platforms like ChatGPT and DALL-E.

But the AI-generated sitcom, described as “nothing, that happens forever” on its Twitch channel, appeared to start glitching on Oct. 27, according to X users. 

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The characters “don’t even say anything anymore and just stand still in complete silence,” one X user wrote.

The show also got stuck on a 17-second clip, showing one character walking into a closed refrigerator repeatedly, 404 Media reported. 

“A show that was meant to last ‘forever’ is fully broken 9 months in,” Koebler posted on X. 

“Nothing, Forever,” created by Mismatch Media, originally followed four characters resembling the main cast from “Seinfeld” and was largely comedic skits and silly dialogue. But after the loop ended, seemingly fixing the endless show, conversations focused on topics like the meaning of existence.

“Do you ever feel disjointed, like we’re all playing out scenes in different plays?” one character said.  

Another character said “all I get are nightmares about being an empty coffee cup.”

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In one scene, the characters are sitting at a diner table that resembles the famed Seinfeld diner. “Is it really so strange to wonder why we are here?” one character says.

 

“Nothing, Forever” has also added ominous background music. For minutes at a time, the stream shows a scrolling television guide as the sinister hum continues without anyone talking.

The show has only stopped streaming on two occasions. Twitch banned the stream for two weeks in February after one character made remarks that were deemed transphobic. “Nothing, Forever” also took a brief hiatus and returned with four new characters. 

Mismatch Media did not respond to a request for comment.