Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill! breaks the mold of many popular D&D shows today. Unlike shows like Critical Role or Dimension 20, which focus on sprawling campaigns running the course of dozens of episodes, Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill! sees a different set of heroes battle a new formidable foe each episode.

We sat down with Matthew Lillard and Bill Rehor, two of the co-founders of gaming company Beadle & Grimm’s, who are launching the new Dungeons & Dragons show on Freevee. 

Each FPWKK campaign features four Level 1 heroes going up against some of the most formidable monsters in the D&D catalog. Inevitably, this promises certain death for the player characters.

“We are the SVU of Dungeons & Dragons,” joked Rehor.

So, why bring in characters just to kill them off? Lillard and Rehor said they came up with the idea because they wanted to create a contained, one-hour D&D series that could draw in viewers who weren’t as familiar with the game.

“We wanted it to be accessible, something that a non-D&D enthusiast could really enjoy. So we started to think about how you can make a one-hour, standalone show that is still true to the heart and soul of Dungeons & Dragons,” said Rehor. “[Killing everyone off] started as kind of a joke. But we’ve come to realize through the experience of shooting 20 different episodes with 20 different casts that the format really allows the storytelling to go in a lot of different directions.”

“I think the great thing about the show is it’s a gateway drug,” Lillard added. “It’s an opportunity for people to find the game, to fall in love with the game. There’s a lot of intimidating things around D&D… there’s inhibitors to jumping in and sitting at a table. [On the show] you’re seeing people have a blast playing, which I think will inspire people to do it themselves.”

FPWKK will feature a rotating cast of DMs and celebrity guest players, including Seth Green, Wil Wheaton, Deborah Ann Woll, Khary Payton, Patton Oswalt, Kate Micucci, and David Dastmalchian, to name a few. Lillard himself pops up as a player, while Rehor acts as the show’s host.

Check out our full interview with Lillard and Rehor above to learn more about how they adapted tabletop roleplay to an audience-interactive, improv-comedy-influenced D&D show, their favorite classic monsters popping up in FPWKK, and more.

Ringing in the holidays with Beadle & Grimm’s

In addition to the launch of Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill!, Lillard and Rehor recommended a few other treats Dungeons & Dragons fans can pick up from Beadle & Grimm’s this holiday season. (Feel free to grab them as gifts for others, or as a treat for yourself!)

First, you can snag official FPWKK show merch, including T-shirts and mugs. For those just getting started with DnD and roleplay games, Lillard recommended checking out B&G’s dice sets and journals. 

Finally, Beadle & Grimm’s also has a Kickstarter running for a new game, Ring of Chaos. It’s a competitive fantasy card and board game where parties of heroes and monsters fight to gain control of the legendary Ring of Chaos. Since it’s still in the Kickstarter phase, you won’t be able to receive this game in time for the holidays this year. But as backer you can reserve your copy of the game along with some pretty neat perks, like getting your game autographed by Lillard and the other game developers.

Visit the Beadle & Grimm’s website for more games and merch, and to learn more about Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill!.

You can catch the show’s two hour, two episode premiere on Amazon Freevee November 16.