Co-creators of the Emmy-nominated series American Vandal, Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda, are set to create another documentary-style comedy for Paramount Plus. Fans of American Vandal are thrilled as many felt very disappointed when Netflix canceled the critically-acclaimed sleeper hit that lasted two seasons. According to Variety, the new series is named Players and it will feature a similar mockumentary style of American Vandal.
Unlike American Vandal which focuses on incidents that occurred in normal high school settings, Players will take a different approach and introduce viewers to the world of eSports (usually known as video games competitions) players. The new series is about a fictional pro “League of Legends” team and their adventure to claim the championship following many close attempts. A 17-year-old rookie and a 27-year-old veteran will have to overcome their differences and find a way to work together for their ultimate goal.
Created by Riot Games, League of Legends is one of the most popular online video games. The game attracts millions of players and has over 100 million active monthly users. Competitions for professional League of Legends players are held all over the world. The 2020 World Championship generated approximately 23.04 million average minute audience. In 2020, the League of Legends World Championship had a prize pool of 2.34 million dollars for the contestants.
Other than Perrault and Yacenda who serve as creators and executive producers of Players, Joe Farrell and Mike Farah of Funny or Die, Tim McAuliffe, 3Arts’ Ari Lubet, and Brillstein Entertainment Partners’ Todd Sellers will also join the production process of the series. Riot Games, the maker of League of Legends, is said to be involved as well. Players will be produced by CBS Studios alongside with Funny or Die, via HollywoodReporter.
Perrault and Yacenda have previously worked on projects such as ESPN’s sport documentary 30 For 30 (“Rocky IV”) and CollegeHumor’s parody Angels in the Outfield. While Players is still developing, cast and release date are yet to be announced.