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DEEP FAKE NEIGHBOUR WARS

JAW-DROPPING COMEDY

It was deemed essential that each episode of new comedy show Deep Fake Neighbour Wars begins with a disclaimer stating, ‘This is all fake’, simply because it’s so realistic. The sixepisode comedy on ITVX imagines global superstars such as Adele, Simon Cowell and Idris Elba living humdrum lives and involved in petty neighbourhood disputes.

There have been shows based on a similar premise, such as 1997’s Stella Street, but the difference here is that by using new computer wizardry known as ‘deep fake’, the actors are transformed into their celebrity doubles. The effect is jaw-droppingly hilarious.

Idris Elba for example, now a keen gardener, is furious that Kim Kardashian, who’s a bus driver, keeps sunbathing on their shared lawn, while Greta Thunberg, a single mum to baby Algae, is angry that Ariana Grande keeps her Christmas lights up all year. Adele’s not happy that her garden awning is being ruined by social media star Jake Paul’s pigeons, and mechanic Simon Cowell’s at loggergeads with Tyson Fury over dustbins.

While the dark side of deep fake technology was explored in last year’s hit drama The Capture – where sinister forces were creating fake news – here it’s used purely for laughs. ‘There’s nothing funnier than normality,’ says comic Spencer Jones, the lead writer of the show who came up with the concept. ‘We’re reimagining our heroes in a very silly way.’

The series has been made by comedy production house Tiger Aspect alongside Studioneural, a company immersed in the new technology. At the end of each episode some of the magic is peeled away when we see the real faces of the actors as the computer-generated celebrity face slowly dissolves. Viewers will notice that the actors do look similar to their characters,

There’s nothing funnier than normality. We’re reimagining our heroes in a very silly way

which is key to creating a realistic deep fake. Many impressionists and actors were subjected to computer similarity tests before a cast of 35 was selected. ‘Lots of decisions came down to minor details and we had to abandon some characters – like Kanye West – because we couldn’t find a match,’ says Spencer.

Meanwhile, Studioneural’s computers were busy creating the celebrity faces using photos and videos and merging them with the features of the impressionists. ‘The synthetic face will do everything the impressionist’s face does, as long as you have the data to match it,’ says Barney Francis of Studioneural. ‘This series demonstrates the beneficial, creative side of the technology.’

All episodes now on ITVX

‘Simon Cowell’ and (far left) ‘Adele’