Legendary has its own subscription-video service called Alpha in the works, and based on how the programming slate is shaping up, it will be a nerd’s paradise. The shows subscribers will be able to watch once Alpha launches to the public on November 3rd will include a number of new and returning programs produced by Legendary’s two most prominent digital subsidiaries, Nerdist and Geek & Sundry.
The most recognizable show on the Alpha launch slate is TableTop, in which host Wil Wheaton and an ever-changing cast of guest stars play board and card games against one another. After a successful run on the Geek & Sundry YouTube channel, TableTop will head to Alpha for its fourth season. The other returning series moving to Legendary’s new service is Nerdist’s Critical Role, a role-playing series.
Those returnees will be joined by several brand new programs, and Legendary has come up with some fresh ideas to appeal to the passionate crowd of geeks, gamers, nerds, and pop culture afficionados it hopes to sign up. Escape, for example, will turn the “escape the room” trend in an unscripted series, while Sidekick will give Nerdist’s Matt Mira the opportunity to play the perpetual second banana next to a series of guest hosts. In the months after Alpha launches, several more shows will be added to its library, including a game show called Majority Rules and a series called Choose Our Destiny that will be led by The Tin Can Brothers.
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Like many other subscription services that target niche audiences, Alpha will be reasonably priced; a subscription will run you $4.99 per month. For those who don’t want to wait until November to get yours, early access will be available beginning on October 3rd, with sign-ups available here.
Here, via a Legendary press release, is information about all 12 of the shows that will populate Alpha during its early months:
RETURNING SERIES
CRITICAL ROLE: ALPHA
Combining the best in RP gaming and improv, Geek & Sundry’s hit show, Critical Role, uses Dungeons & Dragons as the launching pad for to create an immersive storyline and gaming experience that fans can’t get enough of! Featuring popular animation and video game voice actors including Matthew Mercer, Travis Willingham, Marisha Ray, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Sam Riegel, Liam O’Brien, and Laura Bailey, the D&D campaign is invigorated as Alpha members experience several enhancements like special real-time character sheets, damage and heal animations, and visualizations allowing viewers to embark on Tal’Dorei. For non-Alpha members, Critical Role will still be freely available on Geek & Sundry’s Twitch channel at 7pm PST on Thursday evenings.
TABLETOP SEASON 4
Nerd icon Wil Wheaton invites his friends to share witty banter, cheeky camaraderie, and curated board games with TableTop! Pairing notable geek celebrities with a healthy mix of classic and highly anticipated new tabletop games, TableTop is one of the most engaging shows to watch week after week. TableTop will premiere on Alpha exclusively and will be available on other platformsin early 2017.
NEW SHOWS
ESCAPE
Hosted by comedian Janet Varney, Geek & Sundry brings escape rooms to the screen with ESCAPE! Teams of celebrities including Josh McDermitt (The Walking Dead), Alison Haislip, Ingrid Oliver (Doctor Who), Burnie Burns (Rooster Teeth), and Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) work together to solve complex puzzles and enigmatic riddles to ESCAPE the room before time runs out!
SIDEKICK WITH MATT MIRA
The other guys, the number twos, the sidekicks. You’ve all heard of them, and if you can’t figure out who yours is… well, it’s probably you. And Matt Mira, co-host of the Nerdist podcast, gets it. Mira acts as the ultimate late-night talk show sidekick to a brand new “guest host” each week on Sidekick.
VAST
What happens when esteemed comic book creator Jackson Lanzing plays Game Master to an intrepid space exploration crew in a completely original science fiction role-playing game? VAST! Lanzing guides a crew of rotating celebrity guests (rife with audience interactions!) through the sprawling universe of VAST, navigating this space opera with countless unique stories to tell.
WELCOME TO THE SHADOW ZONE
Detroit local Mark Trillbury (you might know him as Onyx the Fortuitous) “skyrocketed” into local fame as Weird Satanist Guy on a Detroit newscast. Now, Onyx has leveraged his fame into a public access show filmed in his mother’s basement. Tired of not having his voice heard, Trillbury gives us a glimpse into the weird world of Onyx. From his opinions on horror films and video games, to debuting music videos from his band, and interviewing family members, neighborhood antagonists, and celebrity guests, Welcome to The Shadow Zone has it all!
TALKS MACHINA
Bryan W. Foster, writer and friend of the Critical Role cast, discusses the latest adventures of Vox Machina on Talks Machina! Featuring cast members of Critical Role, the group discusses the latest episode with fans and offers one-of-a-kind prizes!
WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE
With a thirty-minute mixture of live and pre-taped segments, comedian/rapper Zach Sherwin (“Epic Rap Battles”) examines the world from his unique perspective. Through hilarious wordplay and hip-hop, Sherwin meets audiences at the intersection of comedy and word-nerdery with Watch Your Language!
Programming Premiering Later in 2016:
CHOOSE OUR DESTINY: IMPROV ADVENTURE – Premieres November 9
Featuring YouTube improv stars/LA-based sketch comedy group The Tin Can Brothers, Alpha’s premiere improv show Choose Our Destiny: Improv Adventure brings the freshest comedy to your screen! Driven by the Alpha audience, member suggestions will determine which direction the show takes next, creating a brand new hilarious act every time.
PREDICTAMENT – Premieres November 21
On the surface, this is a typical celebrity interview, but just across the internet, the truth is revealed… on Predictament! On this interactive talk show, each celebrity guest will have no idea that for the Alpha members, each question is a wager opportunity, and each answer is a win or loss! Make the right guesses, and audience members can win great prizes.
PUBLIC ACCESS – Premieres December 4
Geek & Sundry and Nerdist consider viewers more than just “fans,” they’re equals, so why should the celebs be the only ones with cameras? Public Access gives members of the community the chance to make a show… any show! Every Sunday, Alpha lets viewers have an opportunity to watch or even host their own shows! Whether it be a little standup comedy, an arm-wrestling competition, or a round of a homemade board game, Public Access is your new home!
MAJORITY RULES – Premieres December 9
Majority Rules is a weekly live game show where audience members selected at random play a collection of mini-games. Ranging from simple flash challenges to move involved multi-round segments and trivia, viewers will have the chance to win epic prizes as long as the rest of the audience votes in their favor!
