Overview
- Netflix announced Tuesday that Wonka’s The Golden Ticket will debut on September 23, 2026 with a two-part finale arriving on September 30.
- The series will use an AI recreation of Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka voice produced with ElevenLabs and used with consent from the Wilder Estate.
- The nine-part unscripted competition was filmed on the Gold Coast and features 12 contestants paired with partners who face games, tests and temptations for a life-changing prize.
- Production credits list Eureka Productions and executive producers from the Roald Dahl Story Company, and the shoot received Australian incentives from Screen Queensland, the City of Gold Coast and a federal Location Offset.
- The deal follows other estate-authorized synthetic performances and could accelerate licensing of AI likenesses while raising new questions about compensation, creative control and how audiences will respond.