BBC nonsense movie history is now in production! We’ll explore the future of CGI and AI, as the screenwriter relentlessly roasts Sora for self-destruction.

BBC’s scripted comedy mockumentary 《Cunk on Cinema》 announces that filming is underway! Written with humorous satire, because Sora AI has ruined Hollywood—and even ruined itself—now is a perfect time to look back through film history. This production will explore the development from cameras to AI, carrying forward the classic style of nonstop laugh-out-loud moments.

《Cunk on Cinema》, the “award-worthy” installment of 《Cunk on Cinema》, announces that filming is underway—just 37 years after the release of Belgium’s popular electronic dance track “Pump Up The Jam.”

BBC mockumentary “Cunk on Cinema” is underway!

International outlet Variety and the BBC have both confirmed that the well-received BBC comedy mockumentary series 《Cunk XX History》 is entering a brand-new chapter. The new work, 《Cunk on Cinema》（Cunk on Cinema）, is now in the production stage: it will release a three-episode mini-series, with each episode lasting 30 minutes. It will premiere on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two, and will be rolled out to global audiences via Netflix.

《Cunk on Cinema》 will still be starring Diane Morgan as the fictional host Philomena Cunk, who is as dead serious as can be—yet completely clueless.

She will guide viewers to explore humanity’s love of film, with content covering everything from the invention of the camera, to the French New Wave of the 1960s—working all the way through to the birth of computer-generated imagery (CGI) and the future development of artificial intelligence (AI).

She’ll also sit on an uneven, bumpy seat, eating stale popcorn, as she tries to unravel film mysteries:

“When film depicts the human condition, it delivers many deep moments—for instance, the shower scene in Psycho, the image of Death playing chess in that Swedish film, and Tom Selleck’s shining mustache in Three Men and a Baby.” She also emphasizes that the show will inevitably include black-and-white footage, but the team will do its best to keep it to a minimum.

The moment 《Cunk on Cinema》 was created: Sora App ruined Hollywood—and ruined itself

As a work that looks back on film history, 《Cunk on Cinema》’s creative motivation is closely tied to recent technology-related news events.

Writer and executive producer Charlie Brooker revealed that, because the AI video generation tool Sora App has ruined Hollywood and ruined itself, now is the perfect time to review 200 years of film history.

Brooker’s humorous remarks were a response to the recent event in which OpenAI shut down Sora App.

After Sora App launched, it quietly ended after 6 months, due to issues such as user growth that failed to meet expectations, compute costs skyrocketing, fierce competition from rival products, and copyright disputes.

Sora previously triggered a strong backlash from the American actors’ union and Hollywood studios due to its ability to generate lifelike content. Disney (Disney), which had previously agreed with Sora that it could open and use content covered by its copyrights, has recently also withdrawn an investment of up to $1 billion.

Photo source: Sora 2 official website The moment 《Cunk on Cinema》 was created: Sora App ruined Hollywood—and ruined itself

BBC Comedy Commissioning Director Jon Petrie says he’s very much looking forward to 《Cunk on Cinema》. He jokingly describes Philomena Cunk as the BBC’s top and most fearless documentary director—saying no one is better suited to investigate the world of film—and he also believes the project has a chance to carry on the success of the 《Cunk》 franchise.

The 《Cunk XX History》 series explodes in popularity: the charm of speaking nonsense with total seriousness

The origin of the 《Cunk XX History》 series goes back to 《Cunk British History》, which aired on BBC in 2018. This was followed by 《Cunk Earth History》 in 2022, and later on they rolled out 《Cunk Shakespeare》, 《Cunk Christmas History》, and 《Cunk Human Life History》.

In this series, the fictional documentary host Philomena Cunk talks nonsense with total seriousness, and uses her style of battering real experts with all kinds of strange questions. She breaks the impression of traditional documentary seriousness, and is very popular with younger audiences. Thanks to this show, actress Diane Morgan shot to fame and landed on a late-night show.

Photo source: Netflix official images The female lead of the 《Cunk XX History》 series, Philomena Cunk, played by Diane Morgan; played by Diane Morgan

The series has also produced plenty of catchphrases and jokes. For example, Cunk once** asked Professor**** whether King Arthur “Came a lot”—in fact, she deliberately dismantled the fictional castle of Camelot on purpose.** The “Pump Up The Jam” song that occasionally barges in, and the theme song for “Brush Strokes.” And friends and references that pop up from time to time—her close friend Paul and her ex-boyfriend Sean. Or when she comments on European countries’ abuse of Black enslaved people history, she says:

“You might think that ‘human beings need to break free from shackles,’ which Rousseau talked about, is referring to these people (Black enslaved people), but it isn’t. Like many humanists, he found a loophole—if you don’t treat enslaved people as human, then you don’t have to care about whether they live or die.”

In addition to these, the 《Cunk XX History》 series has delivered many great performances. For instance, in 《Cunk Earth History》, to recreate life in a medieval castle, Cunk performs the entire time without any props. And in 《Cunk Human Life History》, as part of her mockery of Netflix, she made a Sesame Street–style American-language puppet animation.

In today’s media environment—packed with self-proclaimed experts who often publish meaningless statements—audiences are already tired of interviews that are devoid of value. Even though Cunk is only a fictional character, watching her challenge authority through ignorance actually gives modern people a brief and enjoyable sense of relief.

And this time, what kinds of humorous commentary will 《Cunk on Cinema》 bring us, and what jokes will it create by riding the wave of generative AI video? Viewers can’t wait to see it.