Critical Role has reached another major milestone in its highly successful ascension. Though it began in 2015 under the ownership of Geek and Sundry, in 2018 the cast took full creative control of the business. The last year has been filled with new announcements, shows, and exciting developments. And things only look up from here.
This weekly Dungeons and Dragons Livestream had modest beginnings. But it immediately amassed a loyal and passionate following. Part of it was likely due to the excellent story and well-acted roles. But most of it definitely is due to the charisma of the cast. A group of talented voice-actors led by Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer which included Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham, Marisha Ray, Taliesin Jaffe, Liam O’Brien, Ashley Johnson, and Sam Riegel. The show grew under the flag of Geek and Sundry. But now that the cast has full creative control, it has shot to heights they seem to greatly surprise the cast, but not the fans.
This last year has seen new shows come to the Critical Role Twitch and YouTube channels aside from their flagship show itself and Talks Machina. There have been shenanigans with All Work, No Play, in-depth interviews with Between the Sheets, art tutorials with Pub Draw, and retro gaming goodness with MAME Drop. The newest shows include Travis Willingham’s Yeehaw Game Ranch and Handbooker Helper.Â
A great deal of new merchandise has come out, to include a comic book series and art books. They have also hosted many more live events. Aside from their annual live show at GenCon, they also did shows on Broadway and in Los Angeles. There was also the debut of their first live art gallery for fan artists.
The most exciting Critical Role news was the announcement of their animated series funded on Kickstarter. What was initially hoped to be a $750,000 campaign for one episode became an $11 Million full series.
As their one year anniversary hits, it is exciting to see the cast continue to create more and more compelling and entertaining content. Fans continue to watch with excitement for what the next year will bring.