‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ Secures Eric Heisserer as Co-Showrunner

Peacock’s live-action adaptation of ‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ has become one of the most anticipated book-to-screen projects in Hollywood this year, largely due to the enthusiastic online fanbase surrounding the source material. Matt Dinniman’s self-published LitRPG series has turned into a significant publishing success, and each development in its TV adaptation has captivated fans eager to see how its chaotic and satirical world transitions to the screen.

The development has progressed swiftly since the series was first announced at Peacock earlier this year. The show received a straight-to-series order in June, and casting updates have been consistently shared in the months that followed, keeping fans engaged as production unfolds behind the scenes.

According to Variety, the ‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ series has appointed Eric Heisserer, the creator of Netflix’s ‘Shadow and Bone’, as co-showrunner, joining previously announced writer Chris Yost in leading the adaptation. Heisserer will also serve as executive producer alongside Yost, Seth MacFarlane, Erica Huggins, and Rachel Hargreaves-Heald for Fuzzy Door, with Dinniman acting as co-executive producer.

Heisserer brings a wealth of experience in genre adaptations to the role. He recently served as showrunner, executive producer, and creator of Netflix’s ‘Shadow and Bone’, which adapted Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse novels over two seasons in 2021 and 2023. Additionally, he penned the screenplay for Netflix’s ‘Bird Box’, one of the platform’s most-watched films, and received an Oscar nomination for his adapted screenplay for Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Arrival’.

Yost, who joined the project when it first arrived at Peacock in April, also has an impressive background in genre storytelling, with writing credits that include ‘The Mandalorian’ and various contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Together, the two showrunners now lead a writers’ room that reportedly received an impressive 750 submissions from writers eager to secure one of the few available positions.

The series will adapt Dinniman’s bestselling books, which follow the official logline: an alien invasion decimates humanity, forcing survivors to compete for their lives on a sadistic intergalactic game show. Coast Guard veteran Carl teams up with his ex-girlfriend’s prize-winning show cat, Princess Donut, as they navigate monsters, aliens, and a deranged artificial intelligence while the apocalypse unfolds as televised entertainment.

Dinniman’s journey to this adaptation has been notably unconventional. The story began in 2019 as vignettes he self-published on a digital platform while working as a sketch artist at cat shows, eventually evolving into a New York Times bestselling series that garnered Hollywood’s attention.

Casting is already underway around the new showrunning team, with Jeff Hays recently announced as the voice of Princess Donut. With Heisserer and Yost now firmly in place to steer the show’s creative direction, and a strong pool of interested writers competing for remaining slots, ‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ seems to be assembling the ideal genre-savvy team to bring Dinniman’s chaotic and satirical universe to life on screen.

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