First there was Steve Allen and Jack Paar. Then there was Johnny Carson. Then came Larry King, David Letterman, and Oprah. Now, joining the list of renowned interviewers is CodeMiko—though her talk show doesn’t air on TV like those of her predecessors. Also, she’s not strictly human.
CodeMiko is a 3D virtual game character who streams on Twitch, the Amazon-owned platform that serves as the home for many of the world’s most popular live streamers. Most broadcast themselves playing video games like Fortnite or Call of Duty to their legions of fans. Others just hang out on camera, answering viewer questions and talking about what they ate for breakfast. But CodeMiko, who’s controlled via motion-capture suit by an anonymous performer, hosts a live interview show and chats with some of the streaming community’s biggest names, like Pokimane and Jacksepticeye.
The show exists somewhere on the spectrum between The Tonight Show and a video podcast. It’s like if the satirical interview web series Between Two Ferns by comedian Zack Galifianakis were hosted by a video game character. Miko can spontaneously start dancing or turn into a clown in the middle of an interview, depending on what the viewers demand. For now, it’s a surreal entertainment experience that can only live on an interactive live streaming platform like Twitch—but perhaps not forever.