The AI-generated '80s family sitcom trend emerged in late 2022, primarily through AI art tools like Midjourney and video generators like Runway. Creators reimagined modern franchises—from Star Wars to Breaking Bad—as if they were low-budget television shows from the 1980s, complete with grainy VHS filters, feathered hair, and overly enthusiastic smiles. These memes thrive on the uncanny valley effect, where characters look almost human but slightly distorted, capturing a sense of eerie, false nostalgia. They are widely used to poke fun at the specific aesthetics of the past while showcasing the bizarrely creative and sometimes creepy capabilities of modern artificial intelligence.