Fans of the table top creatives, Critical Role, received a plethora of news and updates on Wednesday, Oct. 14 during a livestream of “State of the Role.” Voice actors and CR members Matthew Mercer (Resident Evil 6, Hunter x Hunter), Marisha Ray (Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft) and Travis Willingham (X-Men ’97, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man) announced new series, events and initiatives for 2026 and the coming year.
First up, the crew is taking their talents international with next year’s The Nerdy Best Friends Tour. Joined by other members, attendees will witness campaigns in real time, and vote for their favorite Game Masters. Before 2026 closes, the group has two more live shows.
For programming, the trio announced a new miniseries titled Shattered Legends in collaboration with Hollow Live. The contained story within Exandria will stream on Beacon and YouTube. There will also be a few new podcasts arriving on the exclusive content platform, including The Long Rest and All Work No Play hosted by Sam Riegel (Winx Club, The Mighty Nein) and Liam O’Brien (Titanfall 2, For Honor). Fans will be able to experience this content on bigger screens as Beacon gains access to a few more TV apps including Roku and Apple.
Another miniseries coming in January 2027 is Reign of the Weredragon, based on the video game universe of Daggerheart. A second game, RockBeats, will see its story be influenced by players in real time, as they guide creative creatures on a journey to become music superstars.
Music will remain a focus point of a charity live one shot event on Nov. 17. Familiar faces and newcomers will compete in the Battle of the Bards, with funds benefiting the Critical Role Foundation. This year alone, the benefit has raised $302,206.04 for various charities.
Anxious fans couldn’t help but ask about the next seasons of animated series The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein on Prime Video. The former is in the works, entering its fifth season after season four aired this year. And The Mighty Nein’s second season is underway. Updates for both will be coming soon.
View the full livestream and exclusive new trailers in the video below.