SNL alum parodies Netflix’s fictional AI assistant in Mulaney sketch

“Saturday Night Live” alum Vanessa Bayer has brought her comedic talents to “Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney,” parodying Netflix’s hypothetical AI assistant in a sketch that playfully mocks the streaming giant’s recommendation algorithms and content library. The satirical portrayal highlights the often absurd viewing patterns and content categorization that define the modern streaming experience, offering a humorous glimpse into how AI might interpret our entertainment choices.

The setup: Bayer appeared during a star-studded episode featuring Ben Stiller, Quinta Brunson, and Nick Kroll, portraying “Jerica,” Netflix’s fictional AI executive assistant.

• Introduced during what was presented as a phony camera test, Bayer adopted a robotic posture and deadpan delivery to embody the character.
• The skit satirized Netflix’s content categorization system and the often bizarre viewing habits of subscribers.

Key moments: Bayer’s character recited the viewer’s recent watching history with increasingly absurd descriptions.

• “It looks like, in the past 10 days, you’ve watched: bad stand-up special, good stand-up special, dog shit special, absolute dog shit special,” Bayer’s character noted.
• She continued by categorizing shows by their protagonists: “a sad girl, a short girl, a horse girl, a dinner girl,” jokingly praising the “diversity” of Netflix’s programming.

The recommendations: Jerica offered comically specific content suggestions based on the viewer’s “complex viewing habits.”

• These included “an eight-part documentary about a fucking loser who collects Furbies and turns out to be secretly gay” and “petite bald twins real estate show.”
• Other fictional titles included “expensive show executive produced by Barack Obama” and “a Joe Torre Kennedy Center Thing.”

Broader context: Host John Mulaney also took aim at Netflix earlier in the show, joking about the eclectic nature of the platform’s top 10 rankings.

• Mulaney quipped that his show appeared alongside “Latino culture clash sitcom ‘Welcome to the Family,’ a true crime doc about Gabby Petito, a Tyler Perry soap opera and ‘Temptation Island.'”
• His punchline—”Netflix viewers have spoken loud and clear and they are saying, ‘We will watch whatever you show us'”—further emphasized the sketch’s satirical take on streaming content consumption.