Today Critical Role, in association with production studio Third Person, officially announced Moonward: A Midst Roleplaying Story, an experimental four-part miniseries, will premiere August 7, 2024.
Critical Role founders Marisha Ray and Liam O’Brien join Third Person’s Sara Wile and Matt Roen for an exciting new venture set within the Midst cosmos. Guided by the enigmatic Xen, Moonward is a standalone story set on an expedition to uncover the remnants of Midst’s destroyed moon. This series is crafted to be accessible to both new audiences and fans of the original Midst podcast.
“Midst itself was born from Third Person’s shared love of tabletop gaming,” stated Xen. “We’re thrilled, over the moon, you might even say, to return to our gaming origins with Moonward and tell a new Midst story in one of our most favorite formats.”
Moonward continues Midst‘s legacy of experimental storytelling, offering an immersive experience. The series offers a unique, front-row seat to how Third Person crafts their audio dramas, combining live audio, music, and lighting effects to create a dynamic multimedia experience. Viewers will be transported to a black box theater setting where each player contributes to the unfolding narrative in real-time, providing a front-row seat to an innovative storytelling journey.
“Midst has always been about play and experimentation,” said Wile. “We’re honored to have this opportunity to adapt our storytelling style into a new medium with Critical Role, and we hope people will find it as fun to watch as we did to create!”
“The Midst cosmos was built using roleplay and improvisation to craft a collaborative narrative sandbox: Storytelling with friends,” added Roen.
The first episode of Moonward will premiere on Wednesday, August 7 at 7pm Pacific on Critical Role’s Twitch & YouTube channels, Midst’s YouTube channel, as well as in podcast format via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and, with future episodes releasing weekly on Wednesdays. Midst.co and Beacon subscribers will gain access to the first two episodes on August 7, as well as future episodes two weeks in advance (available via the Midst website and Beacon platform).
The entirety of Midst’s original series (plus remastered first and second seasons) are available now on Beacon, your favorite podcast app, Critical Role’s YouTube channel, and midst.co.
Images via Critical Role
Have strong thoughts about this piece you need to share? Or maybe there’s something else on your mind you’re wanting to talk about with fellow Fandomentals? Head on over to our Community server to join in the conversation!