A zombie virus overtakes South Los Angeles in They Left Us to Die, a 30-episode microdrama from media company Mansa that is entirely generated by artificial intelligence.
Authorities barricade the neighborhood to contain the outbreak, leaving residents to fend for themselves. Emergency room nurse Imani Cross searches for a cure for her infected brother, DJ. “The plague was made here, made on us, on purpose,” Cross says in the series.
On October 29, the trailer drew mostly favorable reactions on Instagram as anticipation mounted. But tensions stirred the following day as the first episode prepared to go live at midnight, with users questioning why Mansa created a show featuring zero human roles.
“Mansa was one of the first vertical apps that was supposed to support and cultivate black talent, but here they are … another AI sellout,” one user wrote on Threads, WIRED reported.
“Why would any self-respecting casting director, producer, or director ever consider hiring Oleyowo again after this?” another user posted. Actress Yvette Nicole Brown responded with a single note of disapproval, writing “sigh Mmkay” and adding a GIF of Viola Davis expressing irritation.
Co-founder Nate Parker was not surprised by the backlash. “When we hear the words AI, it immediately drives us to the realities of what we are facing and the real lives it’s impacting,” Parker told WIRED.
Mansa argues that the company is using artificial intelligence as a chess piece rather than a replacement for human-centered content. The strategy uses a series like They Left Us to Die to build awareness of what Black audiences will support.
Parker described the approach as “holding the line on our very existence” in an industry that is consolidating, and being able to “use all the tools that we have at our disposal to make sure we can staff up around shows that get greenlit.”
Major studios would likely struggle to back a series about a Black ER nurse fighting a zombie virus unleashed on her neighborhood by white people without proof of value. Mansa tests audience appetite with its AI shows to demonstrate demand to studios before committing to a live production.
