Peacock’s “Dungeon Crawler Carl” live-action TV series will begin shooting next year, author Matt Dinniman and Universal TV execs revealed Saturday.
“We are starting to see drafts and and outlines and we’ve gotten the whole series pitch, which is really exciting, but it’s continued to evolve,” Universal Global Television scripted series chief Kelsey Balance said during a New York Comic Con panel hosted by Dinniman. “While that’s happening, we are building the ship, or building the plane, as we fly. So that’s happening and that drives everything. At the same time, we’re into soft prep. So we’re hiring HODs. We’re finding great line producers, production designers, directors, casting — all of it is kind of happening right now, which is fun.”
Based on Matt Dinniman’s best-selling LitRPG novel series, the “Dungeon Crawler Carl” TV show will be led by Chris Yost and Eric Heisserer who will executive produce alongside Seth MacFarlane, Erica Huggins, Rachel Hargreaves-Heald for MacFarlane’s banner Fuzzy Door. Dinniman is co-executive producer. The adaptation hails from Universal Global Television.
Here’s the official logline for the “Dungeon Crawler Carl” TV series: “An alien invasion has wiped out most of humanity and any survivors are forced to fight for their lives on a sadistic intergalactic game show. Sounds bad, right? Now try doing it with bare feet and a stuck-up, self-centered, tiara-wearing talking cat as your partner. Welcome to Dungeon Crawler World: Earth, where the apocalypse will be televised … and Coast Guard vet Carl finds himself stuck with his ex-girlfriend’s award-winning show cat, Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk, as they try to survive the end of the world, fighting monsters, aliens, an insane A.I. and even other survivors … all for the sake of good TV. Survival is optional. Entertainment is not.”
Balance noted the “DCC” TV series team was “hopeful we’d be able to announce something today” during Saturday’s NYCC panel, but the project is “just in the middle of the chaos of the storm that not all of that has landed officially yet.” However, Balance says additional details are coming “very soon, within the next few weeks.”
“We’re going to be locking in all of those key things, which will be fun to share with you guys,” the Universal TV exec said. “Then we’ll start actually real prep in the new year and shooting next year. So, the plan is to have all scripts written before production starts, which is great. We’re on track for that and then we’ll start shooting it, which is exciting. We’re constantly brainstorming all the time on when and how we can share things.”
For now, Dinniman and the execs say they can’t give an update on when the show might premiere, though the author did try to get an answer out of them while acting as the moderator for the panel. Along with Balance, panelists included Jordan Moblo, EVP, Creative Acquisitions & IP Management, Universal Studio Group, and Vivian Cannon, EVP, Drama Development, Universal Television. The panel was an event event for NYCC press and professional badge-holders and offered a behind-the-scenes look at how Universal Studio Group identifies promising IP, partners with creators and shepherds adaptations through the development process.
Dinniman also said that, other than the reveal that “Carl” audiobook narrator Jeff Hays will be doing the voice of Princess Donut for the TV series, no other casting decisions have been made — including who will play Carl.
“We were just discussing this backstage. Carl’s not been cast. And we don’t have a specific answer for that,” Dinniman said when asked by an audience member what actor he’d like to take on the role. “I want Carl to be played by someone who embodies the role and someone who who can be both goofy and give off that really, really scary vibe. When Carl’s upset, he’s a very scary person.”
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