E4 has set a March premiere date for Jon Brown’s (‘Loaded’, ‘Fresh Meat’, ‘Veep’) part live-action/part computer-animated comedy ‘Dead Pixels‘ they have announced.
The comedy follows three friends, Meg (Alexa Davies – ‘Detectorists’, ‘Harlots’), Nicky (Will Merrick – ‘Poldark’) and Usman (Sargon Yelda – ‘Strike’) who play Kingdom Scrolls, the popular online role-playing fantasy game, set in a magical world of wizards, orcs and wyverns. They are committed to the game. Because in the end, what’s more important – playing badminton with your flatmate Alison (Charlotte Ritchie – ‘Call the Midwife’), or defending Castle Blackfinger from marauding orcs? For Meg, Nicky and Usman it’s no contest, the castle comes first.
In real life Meg and Nicky work in an office. Meg doesn’t fancy Nicky. Nicky definitely doesn’t fancy Meg. Nothing will ever happen between them, not in this world or in Kingdom Scrolls. They are not sure what Usman does for a living – but Usman has got his priorities right: if Castle Blackfinger needs defending, then grabbing a decent night’s sleep would not only be selfish, it would be irresponsible.
In the first episode Meg meets Russell (David Mumeni – ‘Johnny English Strikes Again’, ‘Fearless’), the new guy at her office. He doesn’t understand the etiquette of online gaming, which makes him incredibly annoying, but Meg invites him on a date to play her favourite online game.
“As an adult male who spends his every actual weeknight in Bolivia attempting to disrupt the manufacture and distribution of cocaine (online; on PS4) I feel uniquely placed to write about the manifold joys and sadnesses of the gaming life,” comments show creator Jon Brown. “It’s a pastime unique for being both utterly and literally pointless, but also genuinely and profoundly meaningful. I look forward to sharing my shameful, pathetic virtual experiences with E4 audiences.”
‘Dead Pixels‘ premieres Thursday, 28th March 2019 at 9.30pm on E4.