Review of ITVX's new impressions show

Today, there’s a news story about how Artificial Intelligence could destroy humanity. And it’s possible that promising comedy creators have been the first to be sacrificed, given how much talent Deep Fake Neighbour Wars has wasted.

This new ITVX comedy show uses the latest technology to create pixel-perfect representatives of celebrities, indistinguishable from footage of the real thing, with skilful impressionists including Katia Kvinge, Aurie Styla and Luke Kempner, adding to the illusion.

The comic conceit - pinched from Stella Street – is they are not stars, but ordinary folk getting embroiled in petty suburban disputes. Kim Kardashian is a bus driver, for instance, taking liberties with the communal garden that is Idris Elba’s pride and joy.  

It’s a reasonably amusing premise for a sketch, perhaps. But a paper-thin one for an entire series. The Kardashian/Elba dispute takes up half the first 30-minute episode, the other being dedicated to Greta Thunberg’s campaign against the Christmas lights permanently displayed by Conor McGregor and Ariana Grande. One joke is that they play against type: he’s a florist, and she’s a scaffolder, though it’s as flimsy a line as any of them.

Occasionally the script throws up a decent joke: McGregor insisting he’s not a violent man, for example, or Kardashian regretting her move to South-East London, lamenting: ‘I miss North West.’ And some of the impressions amuse – normally when they veer into an outlandish caricature of the star involved, which, confusingly, is the very opposite of the ultra-realism the AI is trying to create.

Later in the series, we see married couple Olivia Colman and Jay-Z, convinced estate agent Tom Hiddleston has designs on their cat; Harry Kane upset that Stormzy cracked his patio tile and Usain Bolt and new wife Phoebe Waller-Bridge-Bolt nicking Rihanna’s undergarments. 

The premises are silly, but the execution isn’t, especially. And boy, is it drawn-out, with each modest idea given acres of airtime to play out. 

This is a spoof of a New Zealand series called Neighbours At War, but any similar reality show will do. Sadly the scripted version manages to offer less drama than the shows involving real people. And the novelty of the celebrity parody wears off very quickly.

It’s disappointing that the script isn’t better, given that the show was co-created by Spencer Jones, one of the most inventively silly performers on the live circuit. And the writers’ room has created scores of fantastic Edinburgh shows between them, with the likes of Jordan Gray, Josh Pugh, Travis Jay, Erika Ehler and Lucy Pearman among the ranks.

That the fakes are so lifelike is a terrifying glimpse at what disinformation is now possible from those even more despotic than ITV’s comedy department. What all the technology hasn’t been able to generate, though, is a show funny enough or engaging enough to warrant your attention. Never mind the tech, where are the gags?

• Deep Fake Neighbour Wars is streaming on ITVX now.

Review date: 26 Jan 2023
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett