While a Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves sequel is apparently not moving forward, demand for live-action Dungeons & Dragonscontent is at an all-time high in the wake of the 2024 Player's Handbook release. The fact that an Honor Among Thieves sequel isn't happening is disappointing, especially because Dungeons & Dragons allows for an infinite number of stories to be told under the brand's umbrella. That said, Paramount+ could fuel the demand for more live-action D&D by using the game's sourcebooks as inspiration for a TV show.
Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks come in many flavors, providing all sorts of rules and options for player characters and Dungeon Masters alike, but one fixture of the format is one-shot adventure modules. One-shots provide a DM with all the tools they need to tell a cohesive story, and many D&D modules have fun and unusual elements that even seasoned players may enjoy the novelty of. One-shots rarely provide enough stories to run entire months-long campaigns and are usually meant to be completed in a single session (hence the name), but that format is all a D&D TV show needs.
A Live-Action Dungeons & Dragons Show Could Work As An Anthology Of One-Shots
Doubly So If It Ignores That Pesky Fourth Wall
Anthology shows make for great TV, as their self-contained stories keep the pacing quick and fresh so that viewers stay on the edge of their seats. In the case of a Dungeons & Dragons show, that means that each season could cover a single "adventure," even going so far as to have each season take place in a different part of the D&D cosmology. Of course, fans love having continuity to pick apart, so they can't be completely unrelated, but a common theme or framing device could easily help tie each season to the others.
One of the key parts of Dungeons & Dragons that most adaptations fail to include is the banter between the players at the table. The explosion of popularity that actual-play RPG shows have had makes it clear that this camaraderie is a popular part of watching D&D, and a live-action D&D TV show could easily include that, whether by having the Dungeon Master and players provide voice-over to compliment the action on-screen, or by cutting to them at the table. Stranger Things even showed that there's excitement to be had watching people play Dungeons & Dragons in real time!
The Adventure Zone podcast by the McElroy Brothers makes Dungeons and Dragons less intimidating for new players, expanding D&D to a new generation.
While not a TV show, the graphic novel adaptations of the popular The Adventure Zone arc "Balance" incorporate table talk by having the characters repeatedly break the fourth wall and speak directly to the Dungeon Master, often to hilarious effect. The idea of the Dungeon Master as a character even shows up in the 80s Saturday morning D&D cartoon, where a gnome-like character openly named the Dungeon Master shows up to aid the heroes with advice or items.
Regardless of what conceit a live-action Dungeons & Dragons show uses to incorporate the game itself into the narrative, an anthology format would allow the show to play with D&D mechanics without getting too bogged down in them. A good D&D narrative needs to preserve some element of the fact that the characters are characters, and that they have players controlling them and making their choices.
An Anthology Approach Would Keep A Dungeons & Dragons Show Fresh & Interesting
To Seek Out New Monsters And Old Civilizations (And Take Their Stuff)
The cosmology of Dungeons & Dragons contains a myriad of worlds and settings that a D&D TV show could use to great effect. Whether it's the classic sword-and-sorcery fantasy world of Greyhawk, the grim desert apocalypse of Dark Sun and its many distinct races, or the wild magic-and-steampunk combination of Eberron, D&D has enough settings that a TV show could easily hop from world to world each season and always feel fresh and exciting. There's even Sigil, the city at the center of the D&D multiverse that connects to all other worlds, which could also work as both a setting and framing device.
For anyone not primed to endure the potential grind of an epic, multi-season D&D campaign, the one-shot approach offers a great way to keep the story fresh and engaging. In this format, the adventure would be more self-contained and accessible. This has to be a positive, considering the commercial stakes for anyone making a live-action D&D show.
The Best D&D One-Shots For A Live-Action Adaptation To Use
Both Wizards of the Coast and third-party publishers have released amazing one-shot adventures over the years, many of which would be great one-shots for first-time D&D players. One of the most recent, released in 2024, even canonizes the 1983 Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. Others, like the horrifying Death House or the various Candlekeep Mysteries, push against players' assumptions.
The variety provided by the format and its established presence as a key part of D&D makes one-shot adventures a great template to build on. So long as the showrunners of any eventual live-action Dungeons and Dragonsshow stay faithful to the sense of adventure at the heart of the game, using one-shots as the seeds of their own story will make for great television.
Dungeons and Dragons is a popular tabletop game originally invented in 1974 by Ernest Gary Gygax and David Arneson. The fantasy role-playing game brings together players for a campaign with various components, including abilities, races, character classes, monsters, and treasures. The game has drastically expanded since the '70s, with numerous updated box sets and expansions.
Custom image by Simone Ashmoore
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