iWorld
BBC Studios and Disney+ Hotstar to adapt the popular British modern comedy ‘Dead Pixels’
Mumbai: Disney+ Hotstar and BBC Studios have announced their upcoming modern comedy ‘Dead Pixels’, the Telugu adaptation of the popular British series under the same title. The six-part series will be produced by BBC Studios India and Tamada Media Ltd., with animation by Keyframe Studios, directed by Aditya Mandala, written by Akshay Poolla and features an exciting star cast headlined by popular actors Niharika Konidela, Harsha Chemudu, Sai Ronak, Akshay Lagusani and Bhavana Sagi.
Dead Pixels follows the journey of three young friends whose lives revolve around an online video game, with the ultimate goal of defeating a virtual villain. Based in the city of Hyderabad, the show comically depicts their obsession with the game and how it interferes in different aspects of their daily lives. The group, however, is in for a shock when a new player arrives and upends their dynamics in both the virtual and real world. The stakes are high as online alliances and rivalries are formed that are as potent as the ones in the flesh. The show highlights the importance of acceptance and underscores that everyone can form their own community of friends and support systems, rising above their similarities and differences.
Sameer Gogate, general manager, BBC Studios Production India shared, “We are excited to partner with Disney+ Hotstar on this young modern comedy. This immersive British format provides an insight into the lives of new age introverts and depicts their relationships and social interactions. We’re also delighted to be working with Tamada Media to produce this series and fulfill the increasing appetite for premium content for our local audience.”
Saideep Reddy Borra and Rahul Tamada, the producers and co-founders of Tamada Media shared “We are pleased to partner with BBC Studios India and Disney+ Hotstar to bring an intriguing story, a modern comedy, to our local audience. This adaptation was a fun project to work on and can’t wait to share it with everyone now.”
The original Dead Pixels series was created and written by Jon Brown and directed by Al Campbell with the second series being directed by Jamie Jay Johnson It was produced for Channel 4’s E4 in the UK and was the channel’s best performing comedy launch in over five years. It was produced by Various Artists Ltd and is distributed worldwide by BBC Studios.
Dead Pixels is the latest in a long line of more than ten successful productions by BBC Studios India Production over the last couple of years.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
