Certain to excite gamers and fans of all backgrounds, the team behind upcoming episodic series “The Game” recently released their trailer. Created by the award-winning team of Matt Curtin, Lauren Henning, Maggie Jorgenson and Amanda Sonnenschein, “The Game” brings a relatable story of community, friendship, and belonging to viewers’ screens, bolstered by robust fantasy production design and impressive visual effects.
“The Game” is an ensemble adventure-fantasy comedy series (think Community meets Lord of the Rings) which initially follows Brandon Wynter, a child prodigy who published a fantasy novel at age 15 and then dwindled into obscurity. Now in his late 20s and fresh from a painful break up, he puts out a Craigslist ad in a desperate attempt to find fellow tabletop role-playing nerds. When five people respond, Brandon gets the group together to play, hoping to lead a one-time game without too much fuss. However, the players are full of questions and opinions, and the curmudgeonly game master gets more than he bargained for. We follow the players both IRL and as their fantasy counterparts in the supernatural realm as they embark on a daring and heartfelt journey towards understanding and acceptance of one another and, most importantly, of themselves.
“First time tabletop role-playing players usually create roles based on who they wish they were, but as they play they begin to want roles that reflect the real them,” shares series director Amanda Sonnenschein. “The characters in this show all have their unique reason for wanting to play the Game, but what bonds them is their need for self-acceptance. I have loved exploring their growth through the lenses of their fantasy counterparts this season, and am excited by the impact their journeys will have on viewers over the course of the series.”
“The Game” features a talented cast and crew that will surely lift this project to the top of many critics’ and fans’ anticipated release lists. Notably, co-creator Matt Curtin has amassed almost 300K followers on TikTok and nearly 15 Million likes through his character-driven content. Curtin is also known for several staged plays productions that have had successful runs in Los Angeles, including The Matron of Venice and A Story for You. Series co-creator Lauren Henning and her partner Maggie Jorgenson, under the queer female-focused Violent Pink Productions, have helmed several award winning shorts, most recently Text Me When You Get Home, which was awarded “Best Short Women’s Issue” at the Toronto Independent Film Festival. Director and co-creator Amanda Sonnenschein has a robust portfolio of directed work spanning shorts, music videos, plays, animated children’s content and docs that have premiered on VH1, Amazon, and Facebook Watch. She has also produced several features under Sony and Amazon, and currently works with both HBO and Amazon Studios. With inclusive character representation and a diverse creative team, these talents are bringing their skills together to produce a series that breaks down traditional boundaries of the demographics associated with fantasy.
“I think a lot of us have always felt left out of ‘traditional’ fantasy tropes,” reveals Henning. “But that’s the thing… it’s fantasy! It’s pretend! My favorite thing about this series is that it earnestly and realistically tries to bring all kinds of people from different backgrounds together in this wonderful world of make-believe. Who says we can’t have a drag queen elf priestess?!”
For more information, visit the game’s social media on TikTok and Instagram at @thegame_series.