Geek & Sundry is back
The nerdy institution returns with a new actual play after years of scandal and dormancy
For years, the Geek & Sundry site—which once held a trove of how-to-play videos, high-production actual plays, and tabletop-focused articles—redirected to Nerdist.com. A few months ago, when doing research for a piece about sustainability in actual play, I discovered the site no longer redirected. Instead, beneath the Geek & Sundry logo read “Get Ready to Unlock a World of Wonder! Something magical this way comes. Follow us for updates!”
"We have been working on this relaunch for a few years..."
Today, those updates have come. In August, Geek & Sundry returned from the void to announce a revival of their actual play Sagas of Sundry, with this iteration of the show titled Goblin Mode. The D&D AP will follow the former minions of a now-defeated necromancer who must now seek their own purpose in life. It will be set in the original world of Sundaros, a world “once ruled by godlike beings and now plunged into chaos following their disappearance,” which builds on the developing tradition of dying-gods actual plays like Dimension 20 Fantasy High, Critical Role, and the various Godkiller shows that have been produced in the last year.
The new season will debut in September, GMed by original Sagas cast member Amy Vorpahl, alongside other Nerdist alum such as VP of Creative and Development Dan Casey, Webby-nominated filmmaker Jason Nguyen, and comedian-writer Danielle Radford. “We have been working on this relaunch for a few years,” said Casey in an email to Rascal. “It really gained meaningful momentum in early 2023 thanks in part to our partnership with Realm.”
Formerly known as Serial Box, Realm Media is a podcast and serialized audiobook platform founded by former Penguin Random House executive Molly Barton and Obama Admin Dept. of Justice lawyer Julian Yap. The company’s site states they produce “immersive stories with top-tier talent” and have partnered with a number of major studios like AMC, Paramount, WB, Spotify, Netflix, Blumhouse, Marvel, and DC Comics.
Geek & Sundry’s revival comes after over a decade of meteoric growth, artistic exploration, and corporate scandal. In 2012, Felicia Day, Kim Evey, and Shery Bryant launched Geek & Sundry as part of YouTube’s $100 million Original Channel Initiative. G&S was among the few chosen for re-investment in 2013, which also funded the creation of other channels such as Crash Course, Sourcefed, and a slew of other content that formed the backbone of the 2010’s online nerdy renaissance. Legendary Entertainment—which also owns Nerdist—acquired G&S in 2014.
