Live play Dungeons & Dragons shows have grown in popularity over the last five years, following the meteoric rise in popularity of Critical Role. One of those shows has taken a very different approach to the genre, resisting the temptation to follow Critical Role's popular path with a regular cast and years-long campaigns. Dropout TV's Dimension 20 charts a different course.
Dropout TV, a paid streaming service from CollegeHumor, began streaming Dimension 20 in 2018. The show is now on its sixth season and each features a different cast, setting and themes. Helmed by CollegeHumor actor and comedian Brennan Lee Mulligan, Dimension 20 puts comedy front and center, but never sacrifices the D&D crunch of combat.
Pirates of Leviathan
The newest season, which began airing Sept. 16 on Dropout, is Pirates of Leviathan. It includes perhaps the most heavy-hitting cast yet, with Critical Role's own DM, Matthew Mercer, and his wife and fellow CR cast member Marisha Ray joining the high seas fun. Also on the cast are B. Dave Walters, Krystina Arielle, Carlos Luna and Aabria Iyengar. Pirates of Leviathan is the third "side quest" season of the show, and it takes place in the world of Spyre, a high fantasy world where previous seasons of the show have been set.
The twist is that Leviathan is a city on the water: It's comprised of miles of old ships lashed together to form a floating pirate city. Naturally, the characters must save the day and thanks to Mulligan and the delightful cast, the story is riveting and hilarious.
Unfortunately for some fans, Leviathan had to be recorded remotely because of the pandemic. While the story doesn't suffer in any way from this change, fans of previous seasons may miss Mulligan's elaborate combat sets and miniatures. On the other hand, the show is an excellent example for any DM looking to learn how to run combat in the "theater of the mind."
Past Seasons
For those whose screen time is limited or who prefer podcasts, Dimension 20 is also available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify, but only the earlier seasons.
The first season, also set in the world of Spyre, is Fantasy High. As the name suggests, the story centers on high schoolers in a modern high fantasy world. All the tropes of high school comedies are there, coupled and warped by the setting. It's a world of motorcycles and demons, cafeteria ladies and magical corruption, parents and warlock pacts.
Starring Not Another D&D Podcast's Brian Murphy and Emily Axford, plus CollegeHumor veterans Zac Oyama, Siobhan Thompson, Ally Beardsley and Lou Wilson, Fantasy High takes the players from level 1 to 8 in 17 episodes, which makes it a great story to pick up while waiting for Critical Role to come back.
The Unsleeping City is the third season of Dimension 20, which first aired on Dropout in 2019 and is now being released as a podcast each Friday. Unsleeping City takes place in New York City and follows the characters as they awaken to a magical world around them. The season returns the same cast as Fantasy High and follows players from levels 3 to 10 as they figure out how they fit into this magical world.
Sticklers for D&D rules may find the show's reliance on the "rule of cool" a bit too haphazard, but the result is pure fun. Mulligan still enforces the rules; he just lets the players use their imaginations to enliven the game with their zany creativity. Plus, he also does voice work. For example, in The Unsleeping City, Mulligan showcases his love for the city (and his knowledge of its history) with voices from every NYC borough. In Leviathan, the NPCs all sound like pirates, but they also sound distinct and alive in a way only excellent writing can make them.
Dimension 20 brings just as much heart as it does humor and the stories are compelling and fast-paced. Because of its tight arcs, the series showcases character and world-building while bringing in new voices to the live play community, placing it among the best of its kind.
