A live-action adaptation of the “Dungeon Crawler Carl” book series is coming to Peacock, TheWrap has learned. Seth MacFarlane will be an executive producer on the project, and Chris Yost, who wrote both “Thor: Ragnarok” and the live-action “Cowboy Bebop,” will both write and EP the series.
The show is based on Matt Dinniman’s hugely popular book series of the same name. Dinniman will also serve as an EP on the series alongside Erica Huggins. The series will come from Universal International Studios and will be produced by Fuzzy Door. Rachel Hargreaves-Heald will serve as the executive in charge at Fuzzy Door.
The book takes place after an alien invasion has wiped out most of humanity, leaving survivors to fight for their lives on an intergalactic game show. In this high-stakes, upside-down world, Coast Guard veteran Carl finds himself stuck with his ex-girlfriend’s award-winning show cat, Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk. Together, they must try to survive the end of the world by fighting monsters, aliens, AI and other survivors — all in the quest of making a TV show. “Survival is optional. Entertainment is not,” a logline for the series reads.
“Dungeon Crawler Carl” was originally self-published by Dinniman through the online publisher Royal Road. The fourth, fifth and sixth installments were later acquired by Ace Books in 2024, a sci-fi and fantasy-focused imprint of Penguin Books. As of last December, the series has sold 6 million copies and been translated into some 20 languages.
