Artificial returns for second season on Twitch on April 17th.
The first-ever interactive series enabling the audience to guide the story, “Artificial” returns for a second season on Twitch on Wednesday, April 17, 2019 at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. EST. The 10/12-part live bi-weekly sci-fi series from two-time Primetime Emmy award-winning writer/producer Bernie Su and Evan Mandery will be accompanied by “Artificial Uncovered,” its newly launched companion video podcast. Releasing episodes on alternate weeks every Tuesday following the Twitch live-cast, the podcast is available on iTunes and other podcast streaming platforms.
“Artificial: Version 2.0” continues to follow Dr. Matt Lin (Tohoru Masamune) as he, along with the live Twitch audience, guides his AI daughter Sophie (Tiffany Chu) on her journey to become human. The Twitch users will have more tools than ever to profoundly influence the show’s direction, including interactive polls, audience Q&A’s and the opportunity to send fan letters or gifts that will affect Sophie’s journey during each episode.
“For Season 2 we’re broadening our interactive elements to give the audience a deeper and richer participatory experience into the world of ‘Artificial,’” said co-creator Bernie Su. “We are introducing all-new prompts, polls and unique opportunities for our audience to join our story, and make consequential, irreversible decisions for our characters. The audience is on the journey with us.”
A week following each episode, the ancillary in-universe live video podcast, “Artificial Uncovered” hosted by Carmen (La Trice Harper) and Justin (Justin Lee), which debuted its first episode March 6, 2019, will release a new podcast episode along with two live streams that will air on Twitch giving fans the chance to participate and theorize with the hosts regarding Sophie’s development.
“What we love about ‘Artificial’ is that its audience can truly evolve the story both during and outside of the live broadcast over the course of the series to take full direction of the show,” says Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin. “In the many alternate universes that the creators of the series have envisioned and developed, the audience gets to see only one, but their impact, through the many polls and clever interactive prompts, is what makes every episode exciting.”
“Artificial” is produced by 96 Next, an interactive media studio focusing on narrative experiences for new platforms. 96 Next was founded by Bernie Su, an interactive mixed-media showrunner known for “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” and “Emma Approved,” the first two YouTube distributed series to win Primetime Emmy awards. The series is co-created and written by Evan Mandery, the author of six books, including Q, and is a regular contributor to Politico. Executive producer Bonnie Buckner is best known for producing CNBC's "The Profit,” USA's "Chrisley Knows Best” and “Yo on E!”