When your favorite TV show vanishes after a cliffhanger, or worse, mid-season, what’s a fan to do? Until recently, we had fanfiction. Now, we have ChatGPT-powered fan fiction, which is an AI-crafted patchwork of episodes you always wished existed. Gratifying? Absolutely. A little weird? Also yes.
From Z-List Fandoms to AI Revival
Fan fiction has been around since the literal blink of the internet.
FanFiction.net was launched in 1998 and is still alive and kicking with over 12 million registered users. It’s a sprawling repository of everything from Harry Potter to obscure TV shows like “Glee” or “Doctor Who”.
Yet a fascinating shift is under way: aficionados are increasingly feeding prompts like “write the final episode of that beloved canceled show” into ChatGPT and getting surprisingly good story arcs in return.
While hard stats on growth percentages are still elusive, anecdotal chatter is everywhere from ChatGPT wonder-posts asking “Will AI finish that cancelled show?” to writer forums crediting AI with rescuing otherwise lost narratives.
Why ChatGPT Fan Fiction Feels Right, and Sometimes Wrong
At its core, fan fiction is about filling emotional gaps by finishing the story when the studio pulled the plug. Enter ChatGPT. The model can scan a show’s tone and style and attempt to “weave a finale” that aligns with canon or your headcanon. And the result is often satisfying. Occasionally janky. But always fascinating.
But others are sharply critical, especially around ethics. A June 2025 The Verge article chronicled fierce backlash when fan writers discovered that tens of millions of fics from AO3 were scraped and dumped onto Hugging Face, fueling AI training behind the scenes. Many creators felt their creative labor was stolen, even if it spurred new AI-powered fan stories.
Deepak Shukla on the AI-Fandom Mashup
We asked Deepak Shukla, founder of Pearl Lemon Experiences, and fan of niche TV shows, how he thinks this ChatGPT-fanfic mashup plays out:
“It’s wild, honestly,” he says with a wry grin. “ChatGPT conjures alternate endings for shows that never got closure, it’s like having a magic pen that forgives every cancellation.”
But he doesn’t blind-side the technology:
“AI brings creativity to life, sure, but it needs that human spark, like editorial choices, emotional edits, personality. That’s what separates strange from inspired.”
Viral AI Fanfic that Broke Through
Though pinpointing one single “viral” AI fanfic is tricky, the phenomenon is evident across fan-driven subreddits and Discords, especially when a well-written alternate scene plugs into a fan community’s shared heartbreak.
Consider popular “shows-that-ended-too-soon” like Firefly or Jericho, whose fans have long churned out fanfiction. Now, a sharp ChatGPT prompt can reconstruct a final mission, reimagine character arcs, or even craft heartfelt epilogues.
That said, not every attempt lands. Some AI endings veer off-kilter, mismatching tone or character voices, but they still spark lively threads dissecting alternatives. After all, fandom thrives on “what if?” and “you did not just write that!?” banter.
The Fan Reaction and Creator Sentiment
Fan creators are split. Some applaud the extra fuel, using AI output as a first draft, then layering in nuance and fandom lore. Others reject anything AI-origin, seeing it as hollow or exploitative.
The Verge again captured the tension: AI’s infiltration into fan communities, via scraping, fan bots, and auto-generated reviews, caused real anger and loss of trust.
Still, AI chatbots offer a different kind of engagement. Some users enjoy “talking” to beloved characters via platforms like Character.AI, almost like improv with imaginary friends.
Deepak weighs in:
“There’s a subtle difference between writing about a character and with a character. Chatbots feel more intimate, but raw fan fiction, whether human- or AI-guided, still has that communal heartbeat.”
What’s Ahead for Fan Engagement and Copyright
As ChatGPT continues climbing, a few developments seem inevitable:
- More AI-generated fan arcs, possibly polished by human co-authors.
- New copyright questions, especially if AI uses scraped content to replicate plot beats or dialogue too closely.
- Fan platforms tightening rules: We’ve seen bot-generated spam flooding reviews and stories on FFN and AO3.
- Hybrid models: One foot in AI, one in fandom communities. AI generates ideas; fans refine, share, debate.
Deepak’s final word:
“I suspect fan communities will adapt. Maybe they’ll learn to authenticate AI-crafted content or flag it. But the core won’t change, people want stories, and AI is just the new brush in the artist’s hand.”
Conclusion: Storytelling Gets a Cheeky Update
Once upon a time, fans wrote their own endings. Now, AI gives them a head start. The result? Sometimes awkward, sometimes beautiful, but always conversation-worthy.
And in the messy mix of fandom, creativity, and technology, Pearl Lemon Experiences sees the bigger picture: stories are resilient. Whether human-authored, AI-assisted, or somewhere delightfully in-between, the urge to create closure, that unquenchable storytelling itch, lives on.
References:
- FanFiction.net overview and user scope Wikipedia
- ChatGPT awareness of “omegaverse” tropes—evidence of scraping Scribbles & Scrolls
- The Verge report on mass fanfiction scraping and community response The Verge
- Wired/Wired-style reporting on AI chatbots and fandom dynamics WIRED
