Indie Spotlight: ‘Nights At The Round Table’ Is ‘The Guild’ Plus D&D

Welcome to Indie Spotlight, a new feature on Tubefilter. We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now. 

Normally, the phrase “like <insert popular thing here> but” is an easy way for a project to ride the coattails of a more successful series. Nights At The Round Table, however, is the rare show that reminds viewers of a beloved classic while also delivering its own flavor. It’s a witty comedy that takes combines the character-driven nature of The Guild with its own slick style.

Nights at the Round Table features four main characters who form a tabletop gaming group. Each one hits on a common gamer profile: we have the passionate nerd queen, the super serious older male, the possibly evil girl, and the suave, confident young man. These archetypes are portrayed with great accuracy. While watching, I was reminded of my own past forays into tabletop gaming, except that my group didn’t have any girls in it. The series centers around the group’s attempts to find the fifth member it needs to have a full party, a task that is routinely impaired by each member’s dysfunctions.

The series will begin in earnest on June 13th, but production company Red Shirt Films has already released a pilot episode.

What makes Nights at the Round Table stand out is its edginess. It is shot and edited in a bold, active style that rarely takes any time to stop and think. The jokes are delivered in a rapid fire style, and while they might not all work, there are enough of them that viewers (and tabletop gamers in particular) are treated to plenty of laughs. The result is a sharply written series that lands an undeniable critical hit.

OTHER RECENT DEBUTS TO CHECK OUT:

• Super Knocked Up. What would happen if a superhero got his arch nemesis pregnant? Super Knocked Up, which just started its second season, has the answer.
• Best Friends. What do you get when you cross Step Brothers with a platonic, male version of the Overly Attached Girlfriend? You get Best Friends.
• For Export Only. A sketch series heavily influenced by the absurdity of Monty Python.
• Crew. A drama about three mafia pawns who decide to break off and form their own ‘business’.

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here.