The apocalypse will be televised
Matt Dinniman’s hit sci-fi book series Dungeon Crawler Carl follows a contestant on an alien reality TV show forced to navigate a dungeon created by stripping Earth of all its resources. Variety reports that Seth MacFarlane and Dinniman will executive produce a live-action adaptation of the series for Peacock, so you can watch aliens watch Carl compete.
Chris Yost, whose writing credits include Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: The Dark World, will write the series and serve as an executive producer. He’ll have plenty of material to work with: Dinniman has written seven Dungeon Crawler Carl books and an eighth, A Parade of Horribles, will be released on May 12. The series follows Carl, a Coast Guard veteran, as he tries to survive and entertain viewers with the help of his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut. That means battling aliens, monsters, and even other human survivors.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is one of the definitive series in the LitRPG genre, which draws on tropes from tabletop role-playing games and dungeon-crawler video games to portray characters battling monsters, collecting gear, and acquiring new abilities. Initially self-published, the series has now sold six million copies and been translated into 20 languages.
It’s also turning into a media empire. Playmates will be debuting several lines of Dungeon Crawler Carl toys at San Diego Comic-Con in July. Renegade Game Studios is launching a Backerkit campaign on April 14 for a TTRPG that will let players create their own dungeon crawlers. The company is also crowdfunding for a deckbuilder that can be played solo or cooperatively, with cards representing gear and abilities that can be upgraded as you play. A 2025 Backerkit campaign for Crocodile, a graphic novel extension of Dungeon Crawler Carl, raised $2.6 million. A graphic novel adaptation of the first Dungeon Crawler Carl book is releasing on May 19.
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