Programming Lineup Headlined By All-New Shows and New Seasons of Current Hits Starring Wil Wheaton, Janet Varney, Matt Mira, and more
Membership Service Will Be Available on November 3 for $4.99 per month
Los Angeles, CA (September 28, 2016) – Legendary Digital Networks (LDN) announced today the slate of Nerdist and Geek & Sundry programming on its new standalone membership video platform, Alpha, which will include all-new shows such as Vast (starring comic book creator Jackson Lanzig), the weekly live game show Majority Rules, Sidekick with Matt Mira, and Escape (hosted by Janet Varney). Additionally, Alpha will feature new seasons of some of its most popular existing series including live-action D&D hit, Critical Role, Tabletop (Wil Wheaton), and more. Alpha, which uses first-of-its-kind technology to bridge the gap between audience and content, will be available starting November 3 at the monthly subscription price of $4.99.
Alpha will offer early access to select audience members beginning October 3. To sign up for early access, please visit alphainvite.com.
Below is a selection of shows that will be available on Alpha this year (additional titles to be announced monthly):
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 platforms in early 2017.
New Series
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!
About Alpha
Alpha is the new premium content platform from Legendary Digital Networks that allows fans to interact with feature channels and personalities to form immersive communities around their passions. Alpha’s fully interactive channels include Nerdist Alpha, which features exclusive content from the genre and popular culture experts at Nerdist, as well as Geek & Sundry Alpha, offering specially curated content from the award-winning geek culture and lifestyle authorities at Geek & Sundry. Alpha bridges the gap between the audience and content through special features including original programming, chat, polling, and live fan experiences.
Offering online and offline perks to its members, including access to special Alpha members-only events, prizes, product discounts, and more, Alpha will provide a highly immersive, interactive experience with its original content. Additionally, members will have access to select episodes of existing fan favorite Nerdist and Geek & Sundry shows including The Dan Cave hosted by Nerdist Senior Editor Dan Casey, Co-Optitude featuring Felicia Day and Ryon Day, Because Science hosted by Nerdist science editor Kyle Hill, and more, 48 hours before the shows are available anywhere else.