Players (2022 TV series)

Last updated

Players
Players 2022 title card.jpg
Genre
Created by
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
  • Tony Yacenda
  • Dan Perrault
  • Joe Farrell
  • Mike Farah
  • Jim Ziegler
  • Tim McAuliffe
  • Ari Lubet
  • Todd Sellers
Running time28–35 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network Paramount+
ReleaseJune 16 (2022-06-16) –
July 28, 2022 (2022-07-28)

Players is an American mockumentary television series created by Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda, that premiered on June 16, 2022, on Paramount+. The series is a parody of sports documentaries, and follows Fugitive Gaming, a fictional pro League of Legends esports team.

Contents

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Episodes

No.Title  [1] Directed byWritten by  [2] Original release date  [3]
1"Creamcheese"Tony Yacenda Dan Perrault & Tony YacendaJune 16, 2022 (2022-06-16)
Creamcheese, the star player and one of the founders of Fugutive Gaming, has not managed to win the championship. The team hires Organizm, a young streamer who has been very successful, is signed to the Fugitive Gaming's development team. Creamcheese becomes jealous of the amount of attention that Organizm receives, and becomes furious when Organizm replaces long-time teammate, Frugger. At their first competition, Organizm goes against Creamcheese's guidance and almost wins, generating a lot of interest despite their loss. Organizm leaves a voicemail for Creamcheese, telling him that he will eventually replace him and become the best player.
2"Organizm"Tony Yacenda Tim McAuliffe June 16, 2022 (2022-06-16)
Organizm grew up in a family where his father and brother played college basketball, and his family were not supportive of his gaming hobby. Despite this, Organizm bought himself a computer and became a more successful online player. He gained notoriety when he repeatedly defeated a former professional player in a streamed match, and left the comment "It's okay, I still think you're a good player." After watching Fugitive Gaming, he decided he wanted to join it. In his second match, he again defies Creamcheese and makes a controversial choice. Organizm wins the games, causing Creamcheese to storm off before the game is over. Despite the team's victory, Creamcheese insists that Organizm needs to be removed. Organizm stays with the team, and Creamcheese chooses to leave Fugitive Gaming.
3"Braxton"Tony Yacenda Kevin McManus & Matthew McManus June 16, 2022 (2022-06-16)
Creamcheese and Frugger leave Fugitive Gaming, leaving Creamcheese's spot to be filled by a development player, Cronklyn. Despite Organizm's best effort, the team loses. Creamcheese tries to reunite with Foresight, and old Fugitive Gaming teammate who plays for another team, but is rejected. Braxton wants to get Creamcheese back to his team, and attempts to convince Organizm for play for Academy, their development team. Organizm discusses the team change with Emma Resnick, the daughter of the team president, Nathan Resnick. Braxton convinces Creamcheese to return to Fugitive Gaming.
4"Ownership"Tony YacendaMark StasenkoJune 16, 2022 (2022-06-16)
A review of Fugitive Gaming's history shows when the team turned professional, and was acquired by Liberty Media Group, under control of Nathan Resnick. Upset with Resnick over the performance of the Sacramento Kings, which he also leads, Liberty Media fires him. Fugitive Gaming continues to lose, culminating in a loss that Creamcheese blames on Organizm, but the rest of the team blames on Creamcheese. Under Organizm, Fugitive Gaming improves, despite frustrations from Creamcheese. The team leaves the house for the mid-season break, but Creamcheese and Organizm remain behind.
5"Guru"Tony YacendaNatasha KanuryJune 23, 2022 (2022-06-23)
April becomes the interim head of Fugitive Gaming, and announces that Frugger and Bucket will be released, which upsets Creamcheese. During an interview, Creamcheese publicly blames Organizm for their losses. In retaliation, Organizm appears on the Never Lost podcast, which is hosted by game streamer and former member of Fugitive Gaming, Guru. It is revealed that after Fugitive Gaming's first win, Guru surprised the rest of the team and announced his retirement; he created a gaming stream and lifestyle brand, and has become more financially successful than the professional gamers. He encourages Organizm to consider leaving Fugitive Gaming and becoming a streamer as well. At a party, Creamcheese discussed retirement with Foresight, and says that he never plans to retire. A drunk Creamcheese confronts Guru for leaving the team, and pleads with Organizm to begin working with him as a teammate.
6"Nightfall"Tony YacendaKristina WooJune 30, 2022 (2022-06-30)
After the mid-season break, Fugitive Gaming wins several matches, mostly because of the player Nightfall. He had been brought to the team from a South Korean league to replace Guru. Nightfall was initially criticized, but was publicly supported by Creamcheese and became a respected player. A potential buyer for the team, Julie, is brought to see a match; the players like her because she is a fan of the sport. Organizm makes the wrong decision during a match and is chastised by Creamcheese; he is upset after the match, despite their win. Nightfall meets with him and pleads with him to respect Creamcheese's leadership. Fugitive Gaming proceeds to win their next match, and qualify for the playoffs.
7"Playoffs"Tony YacendaTim McAuliffe & Nguyen LeJuly 7, 2022 (2022-07-07)
Fugitive Gaming easily wins in the first rounds of the playoffs, and Creamcheese leaves to attend his high school reunion. He hopes to reunite with Morgan, his ex-girlfriend that he dated in high school and again shortly after becoming a professional player. He is upset when she is not there, and he meets up with his old friends. Creamcheese becomes upset because his classmates are more excited for someone who lost weight instead of a professional gamer. He returns home, and plays a game with Organizm.
8"Philadelphia"Tony YacendaMichael Orton-ToliverJuly 14, 2022 (2022-07-14)
Fugitive Gaming travels to Philadelphia for the LCS Championship. Organizm is originally from Philadelphia, and becomes frustrated that his brother has set up so many sponsorship meetings, and his family is only interested because he is successful. Fugitive Gaming wins and will go to the LCS finals. Organizm yells at his family and storms off.
9"Finals"Tony YacendaMark StasenkoJuly 21, 2022 (2022-07-21)
Fugitive Gaming is set to play TSM, Foresight's team, in the LCS finals. Creamcheese has historically choked in the LCS finals, causing concern that he will do it again. Fugitive Gaming has two wins, but TSM proceeds to tie the series.
10"Yuumi"Tony YacendaDan Perrault & Tony YacendaJuly 28, 2022 (2022-07-28)
For the final match, Creamcheese selects Yuumi as his champion, which largely means that his success is tied to how well Organizm does. Fugitive Gaming wins the LCS championship, and leaves for South Korea to compete in the world championship. In their practice scrimmages, Fugitive Gaming does not do well on the Korean servers. Organizm becomes frustrated, as he feels that the team has accepted they will not win at the world championship. As expected, the team loses. Organizm chooses to leave Fugitive Gaming and remain in Korea with Guru to become the top-ranked player. The rest of Fugitive Gaming returns to Los Angeles; after a party, Creamcheese watches a game stream from Organizm.

Production

In August 2021, it was announced that Paramount+ had picked up a new comedic docu-style series that will explore the world of esports, titled Players. [4] [5] The show is created by American Vandal co-creators, Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, both of whom serve as executive producers, with the former directing. [6] CBS Studios produces the series, in association with, Funny or Die, Riot Games, 3 Arts Entertainment and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. [7] [8]

After coming off from American Vandal, Yacenda and Perrault sought to do another mockumentary style show. They got the idea for Players after doing research on the world of esports. [9] Sport docuseries like The Last Dance , Cheer and Formula 1: Drive to Survive were inspirations for the show. The creators also looked at the narrative drama The Queen's Gambit as an example of how to depict a complicated game like chess for viewers who may not know the rules. [10] In addition to having people from the League community in the writers room, producers at Riot Games would fact-check the scripts, in order to keep the show authentic to real life esports. [11] [12]

On February 1, 2023, the series was removed from Paramount+. [13]

Release

The first four episodes were released on June 16, 2022, with subsequent episodes releasing weekly until July 28, 2022. The first season consisted of ten episodes. [14]

In December 2022, Funny or Die released the entire series for free on their YouTube channel.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 94% of 17 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.1/10.The website's consensus reads: "Familiarity with League of Legends will definitely help viewers connect better with Players satirical jabs, but this e-sports comedy reaffirms Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda's knack for spoofing documentary conventions with amusing results." [15] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [16]

Related Research Articles

<i>Henry Danger</i> American crime-fighting comedy television series

Henry Danger is an American comedy television series created by Dan Schneider and Dana Olsen that aired on Nickelodeon from July 26, 2014 to March 21, 2020. The series stars Jace Norman, Cooper Barnes, Riele Downs, Sean Ryan Fox, Ella Anderson, and Michael D. Cohen.

<i>Documentary Now!</i> American mockumentary television series on IFC

Documentary Now! is an American mockumentary television series created by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and Rhys Thomas, and premiered on August 20, 2015, on IFC. Armisen and Hader star in many episodes, and Thomas and Alex Buono co-direct most episodes. Hosted by Helen Mirren, the series spoofs celebrated documentary films by parodying the style of each documentary with a similar, but fictitious, subject. The third season premiered on February 20, 2019. On April 8, 2019, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on October 19, 2022 and was also released on AMC+.

Yellowstone is an American neo-Western drama television series created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson that premiered on June 20, 2018, on Paramount Network. The series stars Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, and Gil Birmingham. The series follows the conflicts along the shared borders of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, a large cattle ranch, the Broken Rock Indian reservation, Yellowstone National Park, and land developers. The fifth season will be its last and is set to be followed by a sequel series titled The Madison. The first part of the fifth and final season premiered on November 13, 2022, with the second part scheduled to premiere on November 10, 2024.

<i>Good Game</i> (2017 TV series) American YouTube Red series

Good Game is an American comedy series, developed by Michele Morrow and Jesse Cox, that premiered on August 30, 2017, on YouTube Red. In March 2018, it was announced that the show had been cancelled after one season due to low viewership, despite receiving mostly favorable reviews.

"Wedding Videography" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the sixth season of the American comedy television series Community and the 109th episode overall. It was written by Briggs Hatton and directed by Adam Davidson. The episode was released on Yahoo! Screen in the United States on May 26, 2015.

<i>American Vandal</i> Mockumentary crime series by Netflix

American Vandal is an American mockumentary television series created by Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda that premiered on September 15, 2017, on Netflix. The series is a parody of true crime documentaries such as Making a Murderer and Serial. On October 26, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had canceled the series after two seasons; however, it was also reported that producers intend to shop the program to other venues.

<i>Three Busy Debras</i> American surreal comedy television series

Three Busy Debras is an American surreal comedy television series created, written by, and starring Sandy Honig, Alyssa Stonoha, and Mitra Jouhari. It premiered on Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim, on March 30, 2020 and ended on May 23, 2022, with a total of 16 episodes over the course of two seasons.

<i>Why Women Kill</i> American dark comedy drama streaming television series

Why Women Kill is an American dark comedy anthology series created by Marc Cherry, which depicts the events leading to deaths caused by women. The first season, which premiered on August 15, 2019, on CBS All Access, consists of 10 episodes and is set in multiple periods. The second season, containing 10 episodes, premiered on June 3, 2021, on Paramount+ and focuses on a single time period. In December 2021, the series was renewed for a third season, but in July 2022 the third season was scrapped before production could begin.

<i>Kamp Koral: SpongeBobs Under Years</i> American animated television series

Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years is an American animated television series that premiered on Paramount+ on March 4, 2021. The series is a prequel and spin-off of the Nickelodeon series SpongeBob SquarePants, which was created by Stephen Hillenburg. It features younger versions of the series' characters and follows them as they attend a summer camp. The series was developed by Luke Brookshier, Marc Ceccarelli, Andrew Goodman, Kaz, Mr. Lawrence, and Vincent Waller, and is produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio.

<i>The Old Man</i> (TV series) Thriller television series

The Old Man is an American drama thriller television series based on the 2017 novel The Old Man by Thomas Perry. It was developed by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine and premiered on FX on June 16, 2022. The first season consisted of seven episodes. Following its premiere, the series was renewed for a second season on June 27, 2022. The second season is set to premiere on September 12, 2024.

<i>Station Eleven</i> (miniseries) 2021 American dystopian fiction miniseries

Station Eleven is an American post-apocalyptic dystopian fiction television miniseries created by Patrick Somerville based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Emily St. John Mandel. The miniseries premiered on HBO Max on December 16, 2021, and ran for ten episodes until January 13, 2022.

<i>Rugrats</i> (2021 TV series) American animated television series (2021–)

Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain. It has been described as a reboot of the original TV series of the same name that ran from 1991 to 2004. The series premiered on May 27, 2021, on Paramount+; it is the second Nickelodeon-based series created for the streaming service. As with previous incarnations of the franchise, the series was produced by Klasky Csupo and Nickelodeon Animation Studio.

<i>The Offer</i> 2022 biographical drama miniseries

The Offer is an American biographical drama television miniseries created by Michael Tolkin and developed by Tolkin and Nikki Toscano for Paramount+. The series follows the development and production of Francis Ford Coppola's landmark gangster film The Godfather (1972) for Paramount Pictures. Miles Teller, Matthew Goode, Giovanni Ribisi, Colin Hanks, Dan Fogler, Juno Temple, and Burn Gorman all star. It premiered on April 28, 2022, and ran 10 episodes through June 16.

<i>iCarly </i>(2021 TV series) American comedy television series

iCarly is an American comedy television revival of the 2007 Nickelodeon series of the same name. The series stars Miranda Cosgrove, Jerry Trainor, Nathan Kress, Laci Mosley and Jaidyn Triplett, with Cosgrove, Trainor and Kress reprising their roles from the original run. It premiered on Paramount+ on June 17, 2021, to positive reviews. The second season premiered on April 8, 2022, while the third season premiered on June 1, 2023. In October 2023, the series was cancelled after three seasons.

The 2022–23 network television schedule for the five major English-language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers the prime time hours from September 2022 to August 2023. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series canceled after the 2021–22 television season. The schedule was affected by strikes undertaken by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, marking the first television season since the 1959–60 season that was affected by two simultaneous strikes; however because the strikes commenced in May and July, respectively, programming impacts on the 2022–23 season itself were limited in comparison to previous television seasons affected by Hollywood labor disputes as the next season was affected even more.

Dan Perrault is an American television writer and producer. He is best known for his role in the television series American Vandal, which earned him a Peabody Award.

<i>Grand Crew</i> American sitcom

Grand Crew is an American television sitcom created by Phil Augusta Jackson, that aired from December 14, 2021, to April 28, 2023, on NBC. In May 2022, the series was renewed for a second season; which premiered on March 3, 2023. In June 2023, the series was canceled after two seasons.

<i>High School Musical: The Musical: The Series</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, an American mockumentary musical drama streaming television created by Tim Federle, premiered on Disney Channel, ABC, and Freeform as a preview simulcast on November 8, 2019, ahead of its premiere on Disney+ on November 12. The season consisted of 10 episodes, which released weekly until January 10, 2020. The series itself is inspired by the High School Musical film series.

References

  1. ↑ "Players - Episodes". ViacomCBS Press Express (Press release). June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Players (2022)". Writers Guild of America West . Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Shows A-Z – Players on Paramount+". The Futon Critic . Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  4. ↑ Petski, Denise (August 27, 2021). "Paramount+ Orders 'Players' Esports Series From 'American Vandal' Creators". Deadline. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Breaking News - Paramount+ Announces Series Order for "Players"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  6. ↑ Strout, Paige (February 2022). "'Players': First Look at the Paramount+ Mockumentary Series (PHOTO)". TV Insider. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  7. ↑ Porter, Rick (August 27, 2021). "'American Vandal' Creators Land Esports Comedy at Paramount+". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  8. ↑ Petski, Denise (August 27, 2021). "Paramount+ Orders 'Players' Esports Series From 'American Vandal' Creators". Deadline. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  9. ↑ Sarner, Lauren (June 15, 2022). "'American Vandal' creators on its future and esports show 'Players'". New York Post. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  10. ↑ "'Players' cast, creators inspired by real sports documentaries". UPI. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  11. ↑ "'Players' cast, creators inspired by real sports documentaries". UPI. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  12. ↑ Volk, Pete (June 17, 2022). "Players creators on how they brought their 'esports love story' to life". Polygon. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  13. ↑ Schwartz, Ryan (February 1, 2023). "Paramount+ Removes 9 Shows Ahead of Showtime Merger — Have These 5 Original Series Been Cancelled?". TVLine. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  14. ↑ Grant, Tamara (June 19, 2022). "'Players': How Many Episodes Are in Season 1?". Showbiz Cheat Sheet. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Players: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Players – Season 1 Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved June 16, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.