
My favorite Netflix sci-fi anthology series is back — and it's not ‘Black Mirror'
Debuting in 2019, the show now spans 45 episodes (with runtimes that range from merely a few minutes to around 20), so if you've yet to discover the bizarre joys of this Tim Miller-created show, you've got plenty of chapters to keep you entertained, and maybe a little disturbed.
'Love, Death and Robots' season 4 debuted earlier this week (on May 15), and it's already looking like a prime candidate for the best Netflix show you're currently not watching.
While 'Black Mirror's' most recent season went straight to No. 1 last month, more than 24 hours post-launch, and 'Love, Death and Robots' (often referred to as 'LDR') has yet to even rank in the top 10.
That's a real shame, because while 'Love, Death and Robot' can be characterized as uneven, a common issue with anthology series, when it's firing on all cylinders, it offers unique explorations of sci-fi, fantasy and horror, and is like nothing else on Netflix.
The fourth season of the (typically) animated anthology show offers 10 new installments, and these run the gamut from surrealist comedy to chilling nightmare-fuel. This season, there's even a string puppet concert that returns director David Fincher to his music video roots.
Yup, the first episode, 'Can't Stop,' is a Red Hot Chili Peppers gig with a real twist: The entire band has been transformed into string puppets, and dance around the stage like otherworldly Pinocchios. It's pretty awesome, and I'm not even a huge Chili Peppers fan.
Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
That's just the start of the eccentric mix of shorts within 'Love, Death and Robots' season 4, another sees an alien apocalypse play out in miniature form, while one presents interviews with household appliances in the style of beloved Aardman classic 'Creature Comforts.'
There's even a rare live-action outing for the series, in 'Golgotha,' a 10-minute short that sees a vicar (Rhys Darby) encounter an alien race that believes a dolphin to be their messiah. Plus, for longtime viewers, the third installment sees a return to a fan-favorite universe.
Because (almost all) episodes are standalone, you can totally dive into 'Love, Death and Robots' at this junction. It's very much a series where you can pick and choose the concepts that appeal most to you, or you can make your selections based on fan episode rankings.
Which isn't to say the full season isn't worth watching. While it does have its peaks and valleys (the Chili Peppers episode has proved less popular with viewers), overall, 'Love, Death and Robots' season 4 holds a perfect 100% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
One of my favorite things about 'Love, Death and Robots' has always been that it's the perfect palate cleanser in between longer watches. With episodes that can last only a few minutes, it's great for a quick fix of sci-fi creativity or when you have a little time to fill.
If you've never seen the show, you've got plenty of worthwhile episodes to get caught up on, and for longtime fans, 'Love, Death and Robots' season 4 continues to carry the show's offbeat but compelling torch.
Stream 'Love, Death and Robots' on Netflix now
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


TechCrunch
16 minutes ago
- TechCrunch
Pocket FM gives its writers an AI tool to transform narratives, write cliffhangers, and more
India-based audio series platform maker Pocket FM aims to be the Netflix of audio. That is, the company intends to match its audio series with hundreds of episodes to its users' tastes. For that to work, it needs to release content rapidly — something it's now turning to AI to help with. The Lightspeed-backed startup is giving its writers an AI tool set that can do things like suggest better endings to an episode or make the narrative more engaging. The hope is that the tools will speed up the storywriting process. Pocket FM already uses some AI tools like ElevenLabs to generate voices for audio series. It also tested AI tools for writing and adaptation assistance internally. Rohan Nayak, Pocket FM's founder, said it's rolling out the AI tools to all writers, so it will take them less time to finish their episodes. Image Credits: Pocket FM The writing tool, dubbed CoPilot, can be used to help any writer create a story. CoPilot can transform narrative-based writing into dialog-based writing for a specific segment. It can also do 'beat analysis' to shape the writing in a way to makes it more engaging for an audio series of a particular genre. The tool additionally has basic chatbot-style writing features such as 'shorten,' 'expand,' and the ability to generate text via a prompt. To build CoPilot, the company examined thousands of hours of data points to understand what makes users engage more with a particular storyline in a specific genre. Based on that, it added writing suggestion features designed to increase conflict between characters and recommend endings for an episode to make it more exciting. AI can also suggest tags for background effects that can be used while producing the audio. The tool can automatically generate bios of characters, their relationships, and summarize plot points of different episodes, allowing creators to refer back to these details while writing. CoPilot also has a review tool, which checks for plot points, grammar, and leaves qualitative feedback through comments on an episode. Under the hood, Pocket FM is training smaller models to maintain context for a story for character arcs and relations, along with narrative consistency. Plus, utilizing signals from users, the startup is nudging AI to add more drama to the story. International expansion and localization plans Alongside the arrival of the AI tools, Pocket FM launched adaptation tools for various markets that not only translate the text from one language to another but also change names and phrases that are more suited to that region's culture. The company first debuted this tool as a part of the CoPilot suite in Germany earlier this year to convert stories from other regions after reportedly struggling to engage users in the European country last year. Nayak said the company saw great results from this trial, with a constant increase in monthly in-app revenue, which crossed $700,000 in June. Image Credits: Pocket FM 'When we started expanding into new regions, it used to take us 12-18 months to meaningfully exist in that market. You have to have at least 1,000 hours of content to start acquiring users and scaling the market. Now we can do this in less than three months,' Nayak said. The tool increased writer productivity by up to 50% for the German market in terms of show output. Plus, the tool helped the company create more error-free drafts of the shows that resulted in higher user retention for audio series. In the U.S, series created with the help of these new AI tools are now contributing 10% of playtime. Plus, these shows have generated $7 million in revenue in the last 12 months while reducing the cost of production by 2-3 times. Building tech to scale content generation As a result of adopting different AI features internally, Pocket FM has been able to scale the content quickly. The startup said it launches close to 1,000 pilots per month. And just the sheer volume of content results in a few of them becoming hits. But the audio show is just one part. The company is already working on tools to convert stories into comic strips with its Pocket Toons platform. Plus, Nayak said video is a possible format the company could explore, too. The startup, which has raised over $196 million in funding across rounds, is experimenting with a micro drama app as well. Image Credits: Screenshot by TechCrunch By next year, Pocket FM wants to release its own singular large language model (LLM), which will be based on data collected from its shows and incorporate different tools like writing assistance, adoption, dramatization, and story context retention. The company said that when it switches to its own LLM, it won't need to train a ton of small models for separate features. AI's potential downsides Adopting AI has had its side effects. Pocket FM has already laid off people who were employees or contractors across multiple rounds in the last 12 months. There have also been reports of writers seeing diminished returns over time. And the company is facing lawsuits in California over employment and wage issues. 'Like most content-led industries, we work with a diverse network of writers, voice artists, and production partners on a project basis, tailoring resources to each market. AI has had minimal impact on our core creative community; instead, it has opened new avenues to expand reach and output,' a company rep said, in response to these layoffs. There are questions around quality, as well. The company measures quality by the retention numbers of a show. The base argument is that the new AI tools act as a writers' room even for solo creators, so they will be able to produce more content at a rapid rate. Plus, based on the numbers, writers can quickly edit the story with the help of AI. However, these tools can very well induce 'AI slop' — or low-quality, AI-generated content — into the platform and could impact a user's recommendations, making it difficult for them to discover good stories. Pocket FM argues that stories that have a solid structure will gain popularity, despite AI helping them. The company noted that every piece of content is reviewed by its AI-powered moderation framework to ensure quality and originality. It also claims its AI moderation checks for things like duplication, copyright issues, content health, and other quality measures before approving audio to go live. Each show receives and equal push, and user engagement ultimately determines a show's ranking. Another concern is that writers could become overly dependent on AI over time. In Germany, AI is writing more content than humans per show for select titles. With Pocket FM's plans to roll out more AI tools, the amount of AI-written content could increase. And with that, the expectation of churning out more shows could rise, too. Unless user adoption also rises rapidly, average returns could drop. The company didn't directly address TechCrunch's questions about returns, but said that its AI tools can speed up a writer's work and help them edit an episode based on numbers and audience feedback. That is they could make targeted improvements, instead of doing a full rewrite. 'This way, faster content creation doesn't necessarily dilute quality or relevance; it just shifts the writer's role towards editing, refining, and steering more productive output,' a spokesperson said in a statement.


CNN
32 minutes ago
- CNN
Sha'Carri Richardson addresses domestic violence incident
Sha'Carri Richardson addresses domestic violence incident Sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson addressed her recent domestic violence arrest in a video on social media and issued an apology to her boyfriend Christian Coleman. 00:55 - Source: KING Vertical Trending Now 14 videos Sha'Carri Richardson addresses domestic violence incident Sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson addressed her recent domestic violence arrest in a video on social media and issued an apology to her boyfriend Christian Coleman. 00:55 - Source: KING A glacier outburst is underway in Alaska A wave of water gushing out of an Alaskan glacier is threatening significant, potentially record-breaking flooding in Juneau for the third consecutive August. 00:44 - Source: CNN Did Taylor Swift drop another Easter egg? Taylor Swift announced her newest album "The Life of a Showgirl" on Travis and Jason Kelce's podcast "New Heights." CNN's Lisa France reports that the announcement could reveal hints about the future of Travis and Taylor's relationship. 00:55 - Source: CNN Prince Harry and Meghan Markle extend Netflix deal Prince Harry and Meghan Markle extended their deal with Netflix to continue producing films and television shows for the streaming service. The couple's 2020 deal with Netflix was set to expire later this year. 00:39 - Source: CNN Lightning strike sparks fireball in South Carolina Dashcam video from the Mount Pleasant Police Department shows a lightning strike near an intersection in South Carolina. Hundreds lost power, and no injuries were reported, according to officials. 00:31 - Source: CNN Insect crawls on during European tour Singer, dancer and actress Jennifer Lopez was performing in Almaty, Kazakhstan when an uninvited guest joined her on stage. She casually dismissed the intruder, a long-legged insect, and thanked her fans. 00:28 - Source: CNN Meet the winner of 2025's World's Ugliest Dog Contest The World's Ugliest Dog Contest named Petunia, a hairless bulldog, the winner of this year's competition in California on Friday. The prize was $5,000 and a merchandise deal with Mug Root Beer. 00:30 - Source: CNN A relic of the 90s and early 2000s, AOL ending its dial-up internet service AOL, an internet pioneer that brought millions of Americans online for the first time, is discontinuing its dial-up service next month. AOL posted a statement saying it 'routinely evaluates its products and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet' on September 30, ending more than three decades of operations. 00:33 - Source: CNN Masked thieves steal $7,000 worth of Labubu dolls Masked thieves stole about $7,000 worth of Labubu dolls from a Los Angeles-area store on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department are investigating the incident. 00:44 - Source: CNN Intense storm rips roof off prison Hundreds of prisoners from the Nebraska State Penitentiary were displaced after a violent storm damaged two housing units on Saturday, according to the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. No injuries were reported, the department said. 00:27 - Source: CNN Paris locals say tourism surge is 'an invasion' Paris is no stranger to tourists taking photos of its historic landmarks. Tourists taking photos of themselves in front of the landmarks for social media? Well, that's changed the game. As the French capital sees a surge in international tourism, CNN's Melissa Bell spoke with locals in Montmartre who told CNN they worry that the large crowds are leading to the 'Disney-fication' of their neighborhood. 01:27 - Source: CNN Meet the oldest panda living outside of China At 35 years old, Xin Xin is a legend as the oldest giant panda living outside of China. CNN's Valeria León visited Mexico City's Chapultepec Park Zoo – where Xin Xin lives – to see why thousands of people visit the panda each day. 01:14 - Source: CNN See what happens when a robot competes with courting fiddler crabs Researchers test fiddler crab mating strategies by introducing a robot with a waving claw, dubbed 'Wavy Dave.' CNN speaks to one of the scientists about the study and some surprising moments caught on camera. 01:50 - Source: CNN See statue unveiling for Tom Brady at Gillette Stadium The New England Patriots unveil a statue for seven-time Super Bowl champion and retired quarterback Tom Brady at Gillette Stadium. 00:32 - Source: CNN


Business Wire
an hour ago
- Business Wire
Wattpad Author Ariana Godoy Named to Variety's 2025 Storytellers to Watch List
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wattpad, a leading webnovel platform and storytelling community, is thrilled to announce that author Ariana Godoy has been named to Variety's 2025 Storytellers to Watch list. Variety's prestigious list spotlights ten rising entertainment industry stars who are captivating audiences in fresh, new ways. Ariana Godoy is one of Wattpad's most renowned writers and a leading voice in romance fiction. Her stories have accumulated more than 850 million reads on Wattpad, sold over one million copies in print, and been adapted as streaming and theatrical hits. Ariana Godoy is one of Wattpad's most renowned writers and a leading voice in romance fiction. Her stories have accumulated more than 850 million reads on Wattpad, sold over one million copies in print, and been adapted as streaming and theatrical hits. The Venezuelan-American author began writing on Wattpad in 2014 and has since written 20 webnovels in English and Spanish, publishing nine bestselling print editions with the Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group and Penguin Random House. Her Wattpad webnovel, A través de mi ventana (Through My Window) became a global phenomenon with 386 million reads, and has been adapted into a trilogy of films from Netflix and WEBTOON Productions. Each film in the trilogy debuted at #1 on the Netflix charts for Non-English films, and the first film in the series remains one of Netflix's most-watched non-English films of all time, with 116 million hours viewed. In upcoming projects, Godoy's Wattpad webnovel Sigue Mi Vo z has been adapted as a feature film from WEBTOON Productions, Zeta Studios and Beta Fiction Spain. The film will premiere September 12 in theaters in Spain and on Prime Video Spain at a later date. 'Ariana's success on Wattpad is truly inspiring,' said Aron Levitz, President of Wattpad. 'Her ability to connect with fans around the world and create stories that speak to people across languages and formats is what makes her so remarkable. Ariana is a storytelling powerhouse and this honor is well deserved.' 'Working with a creator like Ariana, whose talent, drive and passion are unparalleled, is part of what makes my job so fulfilling,' said David Madden, President of WEBTOON Productions. 'All of us at WEBTOON Productions are thrilled to see her recognized for this list as her storytelling has touched all of us deeply.' 'Writing has always been how I express myself, and I'm overjoyed that stories that come from my heart have connected with readers all over the world on Wattpad, in print, and on Netflix!' said Wattpad author Ariana Godoy. 'I'm beyond honored to be a part of Variety's list of 10 Storytellers to Watch, and I'm excited to continue to share my stories with the world.' Past honorees of Variety's Storytellers to Watch include New York Times bestselling author Brit Bennett (The Vanishing Half), composers Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss (Six), and Horton Foote Prize-winning playwright Lauren Yee, among others. To view the full 2025 Storytellers to Watch list from Variety, visit here. About Wattpad Wattpad's vision is to entertain and connect the world through stories. A leading global webnovel platform, Wattpad has democratized storytelling for a new generation of diverse Gen Z writers and their fans. Wattpad is part of WEBTOON Entertainment's IP & Creator Ecosystem, where approximately 155 million monthly active users discover incredible stories in multiple formats.