Fox Nation's New 'Houdini: Back from the Dead' Puts an AI-Generated Houdini in the Interview Chair

Fox Nation is launching "Houdini: Back from the Dead," a three-part series in which an AI-generated Harry Houdini answers interview questions on camera like a documentary subject, according to Variety. The production used AI to transform human stand-in actors into Houdini's wife, family and friends, while human writers scripted the dialogue from diaries, books and letters.

• The series debuts Oct. 14. The three-part series arrives ahead of the 100th anniversary of Houdini's death on Oct. 31, 1926.
• More than 400 licensed photographs feed the series. Red Rock Films produced it using those photographs plus archival footage.
• Voices mix human and AI. The characters' voices combine human and AI-generated performances.
• Experts checked the history. Historical points in the series were verified by experts and research.
• Fox News steps into AI-generated content. Variety calls the series the Fox News banner's first foray into fully AI-generated content.

Stand-in actors become Bess Houdini, his family and friends through AI

Red Rock Films produced the series, which was made using more than 400 licensed photographs and archival footage, per Variety's Fox Nation report.

Human actors served as stand-ins for the historical characters, including Houdini's wife Bess, his mother, his brother and his friends. The production team then used AI to transform those performers into the figures they played.

Houdini appears as an AI-generated persona positioned like a documentary subject, answering questions about his life for a "camera."

Variety does not name the AI tools or models used, and it does not describe how the photographs and footage were applied during production.

Human writers scripted Houdini's dialogue from diaries, books and letters

Human writers scripted the dialogue from words found in diaries, books and letters, so the AI Houdini delivers lines drawn from the written record. Experts and research verified the historical points, according to the Variety report.

The characters' voices are a mix of human and AI-generated voices. The report does not say which characters use which.

The series chronicles Houdini's life through his own "words," covering a childhood marked by a violent accident, strained relations with his family and the daring feats he performed for audiences.

People handled the scripting, the stand-in performances and the fact-checking. AI handled the visual transformation of the actors and some of the voices.

Variety calls the Houdini series Fox News' first foray into fully AI-generated content

Variety describes the series as the larger Fox News banner's first foray into the controversial sector of fully AI-generated content, an area it says most news outlets have opted not to explore. Fox Nation is Fox News' streaming service, and Red Rock Films produced the series for it.

Lauren Petterson, president of Fox Nation, said the series represented "new creative ground by using emerging technology to bring one of history's most fascinating figures to life for a modern audience."

"We're proud to showcase a new form of historical storytelling that allows viewers to experience Houdini's remarkable life in his own words, while remaining rooted in extensive research and historical accuracy," Petterson said in Variety's coverage.