The show was announced in January 2023,[7] and work on the project had begun by March 2023.[8] The first season premiered on November 19, 2025.[9]
Premise
Setting
The Mighty Nein is set on Exandria, a fictional world created by Matthew Mercer in 2012 for his personal Dungeons & Dragonscampaign which later launched as the actual play web series Critical Role in 2015.[10][11][12] Most of the story takes place on the continent of Wildemount, which is located to the east of Tal'Dorei, the setting of The Legend of Vox Machina (2022).[13][14] It takes place 20 years after the events of The Legend of Vox Machina, at a time of very high tensions between the Dwendalian Empire and the Kryn Dynasty—two of Wildemount's major powers, which are divided by the Ashkeeper Peaks mountain range—and war is imminent.[14]
Western Wildemount is governed by the Dwendalian Empire and is ruled by King Bertrand Dwendal. A council of powerful archmages called the Cerberus Assembly act as advisors to the House of Dwendal.[14] Trent Ikithon, Archmage of Civic Influence, controls a secret group of wizard assassins known as the Volstrucker.[15][16] The Empire regards the region of Xhorhas, which occupies the eastern side of the continent, as an inhospitable wasteland. Xhorhas is governed by the Kryn Dynasty, is ruled by the Bright Queen Leylas Kryn, and is primarily home to the drow and other races considered to be monstrous. The Menagerie Coast occupies the southwestern coastline next to the Lucidian Ocean and is governed by the Clovis Concord, a coalition of city-states that includes Nicodranas and Port Damali.[14]
Synopsis
The Mighty Nein follows a group of misfits with troubled pasts and secrets who find themselves drawn together by circumstance. They become entangled in a larger conflict and "must work together to save the realm" after a "powerful arcane relic known as The Beacon falls into dangerous hands".[5]
Cast and characters
The cast reprised their roles from the Critical Role actual play show:[6][1][5]
Laura Bailey as Jester Lavorre, a mischievous tieflingcleric who follows an unseen deity known as "The Traveler"
Matthew Mercer as Essek Thelyss, a drowwizard from the Kryn Dynasty who is involved in high level machinations between the Dynasty and the Empire while hiding that his mother has typhros[a]
Liam O'Brien as Caleb Widogast, a scruffy human wizard with a command of fire-based magic
Marisha Ray as Beauregard "Beau" Lionett, a human monk from the Cobalt Soul, skilled in martial arts and investigative work
Travis Willingham as Fjord Stone, an orphaned half-orcwarlock and sailor who unknowingly gains magical abilities after surviving a shipwreck
Additionally, the show features Lucy Liu as Empress Leylas Kryn, the Bright Queen of the Kryn Dynasty,[19] and Mark Strong as Trent Ikithon, the villainous Archmage of Civil Influence for the Cerberus Assembly.[20]
Three Volstruckers steal a Luxon Beacon. Pursued by Kryn forces, they retreat to Rockguard Garrison where an explosion occurs. The Kryn Queen warns King Bertrand to return the Beacon or face war. Trent Ikithon, Archmage of Civil Influence, claims the true culprit is irrelevant now the Empress has a war pretext. Cobalt Soul monks investigate the blast. While her field supervisor blames Kryn savages, trainee Beau discovers a crystal fragment. Later, Archivist Zeenoth confiscates the fragment, chiding her. Beau tails Zeenoth to a meeting with Owelia, a Volstrucker, where he returns the residuum crystal. Owelia ambushes Beau, leaving her for dead. Expositor Dairon rescues Beau and enlists her help investigating corruption within the Cobalt Soul and the Cerberus Assembly. Ikithon secretly meets with his Volstruckers, witnessing the Beacon's soul-absorbing properties when Dain dies. Meanwhile, a destitute Caleb encounters Nott, who agrees to help burglarize a shop in exchange for alcohol. Caleb attempts a cat-summoning ritual that fails—though the cat briefly appears. Originally planning to betray Caleb for money, Nott instead offers to extend their partnership after witnessing the spell. Elsewhere, searching for the Beacon, Yasha attacks Kyrn forces; a sigil glows on the back of her neck.
2
2
"Who Will You Be?"
Mari Yang
Tania Lotia
November19,2025(2025-11-19)
Fjord and Captain Vandran finish sparring before their ship is sabotaged during a storm. An otherworldly voice tells Fjord to "breathe". He wakes washed ashore, finding Vandran's falchion. Beau learns of her first mission as an Expositor. At the Lavish Chateau, Jester converses with an unseen entity called the Traveler while her mother, Marion, performs. The Bright Queen tasks Essek with recovering the Beacon and General Verrat with war preparations. Essek visits Deirta, his mother, who is in hiding with typhros[a] and promises to find a cure. Fjord is refused entry to Nicodranas, but a wave of magic from his sword unintentionally commands the guards to obey him. Beau recalls her fight with the Volstrucker, gaining insight. After hiding in a stable overnight, Caleb and Nott are discovered, freeing Beau's horse as they flee. Jester interrupts Lord Sharpe's pro-war speech. As she flees, she bumps into Fjord who unwittingly aggravates the situation. They escape to the Chateau. Jester and Fjord leave for Zadash to avoid the wrath of Lord Sharpe. Despite the guise of being banished to a Cobalt Soul outpost, Beau is being watched. Essek teleports to the Soltryce Academy to help Ikithon study the stolen Beacon.
3
3
"The Fletchling & Moondrop Traveling Carnival of Curiosities"
Ed Tadem
Zak Schwartz
November19,2025(2025-11-19)
In Trostenwald, Mollymauk reassures Gustav that Toya and her Devil-Toad act will save the carnival. While waiting for transport to Zadash, Jester and Fjord play carnival games and discuss magical patrons. As Toya's caravan arrives, Nott and Caleb attempt to steal her lumino beetles but Caleb freezes after seeing Owelia in the crowd. Owelia has tracked Beau to the carnival, where Beau receives a message stone from Dairon's contact. Beau confronts Nott and Caleb about her missing horse; Nott pickpockets the stone from Beau. Mollymauk convinces Jester and Fjord to see Toya's act. Inside the big tent, Toya uses her beetles and voice to direct the Devil-Toad through tricks, with Jester volunteering onstage. Outside, another attempt by Nott and Caleb to steal the beetles leads to a scuffle with Beau; beetles escape into the tent. Toya loses control of the toad, which rampages and transforms people into monstrous thralls, including Gustav. Everyone fights – Mollymauk is forced to kill Gustav in self-defense. The toad swallows the stone when attempting to eat Beau. Caleb loses control of a spell after Fjord bumps him, igniting the tent. The toad grabs Toya and escapes. Guards arrive and arrest the survivors.
The survivors of the carnival massacre are blamed for the attack and thrown in jail. In order to clear their names, they break out and return to the carnival to investigate the attack. Molly uses a mysterious blood magic ability to track the Devil-Toad. They find the toad in a cave, where the monster has possessed Toya, claiming it is all that keeps her alive. The team fight and kill the toad, slicing Toya free, but Nott and Jester are unable to save her. Beau retrieves her stone and Molly discovers a dimensional rift that looks familiar, but he does not understand why. Devastated by the loss of Toya and their role in it, the group start traveling together. A misunderstanding at Trostenwald's gates leads Jester to declare to guards that the group is called "The Mighty Nein". When they return the toad's head, they are ambushed by Owelia, who recognizes Caleb. Meanwhile, Essek helps Trent Ikithon access and experiment on the Beacon, but is quickly disturbed by Ikithon's brutal tactics and intent to use the Beacon as a weapon. Verrat discovers Deirta has typhros, but vows to keep Essek's secret as he is deployed for war.
The Mighty Nein is an adaptation of the second campaign of the actual play web series Critical Role.[7] As part of a sponsorship deal between Critical Role and D&D Beyond in 2018, an animated ad spot for the platform was produced which featured the Mighty Nein characters in combat.[24] The animated ad "opened doors" for The Legend of Vox Machina (2022), the first Critical Role animation adaptation, to be produced.[25] In January 2023, it was announced that Critical Role Productions had signed a first-look deal with Amazon Studios to create film and television series, while also announcing an animated series based on the Mighty Nein campaign.[7][26]Variety reported that "under the deal with Amazon Studios, Critical Role will continue to produce under its production banner, Metapigeon".[7]
Casting
The main cast of Critical Role at WonderCon in 2017.
The Critical Role player cast reprise their roles from the second campaign.[6][1] On July 22, 2025, it was reported that Matthew Mercer, Critical Role'sdungeon master, would reprise his role as Essek Thelyss.[1]Entertainment Weekly noted that "the 'Hidden Matt Mercer' trend definitely continues on The Mighty Nein, i.e. Critical Role'sDungeon Master voicing various background roles on the show, as he did on The Legend of Vox Machina".[17] Additionally, the other main cast members, "as well as the extended Critical Role family, play their part in voicing various one-off characters".[17]
In early March 2023, Critical Role cast member Liam O'Brien revealed to ComicBook.com that work on The Mighty Nein project had begun.[8] In a June 8, 2024 post on X; it was revealed that voice acting had begun.[28] In a October 2024 interview, cast member and executive producer Travis Willingham stated that the writing for the first season was completed and that progress on the show was "definitely more than halfway done".[29][30] In June 2025, Willingham stated that they had "recorded the entire first and second season".[31]
The cast were involved in the character design process.[32] Cast member and executive producer Sam Riegel commented that The Mighty Nein will be "tonally different" from their first animated adaptation The Legend of Vox Machina.[33]Showrunner and executive producer Tasha Huo similarly stated that the Mighty Nein "reflects a more mature, more elevated storytelling" than the previous series and this show has "more drama" and "more filmmaking involved".[1] Huo noted that they tried "to treat the show like a live-action show, which is tonally different than Vox Machina, but still keeping within the same world".[1] Willingham explained that this adaptation "is from the get-go a complete departure" and that "you're coming into the characters that you love, but a totally new story".[33] Among the changes are the deaths of characters who survived in the original campaign, a deliberate decision by the creators to establish a darker tone for the series.[34][35]
Entertainment Weekly highlighted that The Mighty Nein will take a similar approach to the character Essek Thelyss as The Legend of Vox Machina series did with its "more nefarious characters", such as the Briarwoods, by "showing story material that happened 'off screen' (metaphorically speaking, since there are no screens in a table-top campaign)".[1] Willingham commented that this approach will show the audience "the machinations both happening in the Empire and the Dynasty, all the things moving behind the scenes, and really who was Essek" and how he ended up "in the place where he was, moving these large pieces and affecting a large portion of the world in The Mighty Nein".[1]
Animation
The series is animated by Titmouse, Inc.[36] Huo emphasized the appearance of spellcasting is unique for each character, reflecting "who they are as people".[37]Dunamancy, a type of magic created by Mercer for the Kryn Dynasty, will also be featured. In comparison to The Legend of Vox Machina, Riegel noted that magic is more "intricate", highlighting that the components and incantations used "to make magic" as well as "the way that people learn magic or are granted magic is a big, big deal in The Mighty Nein".[38] At the SCAD AnimationFest, art director Joseph Martinez explained that while the first series is "a bit more high fantasy", the setting for The Mighty Nein "is more grounded and based on Eastern European history. We went for a more brutalist look, with architecture that over encumbers our characters".[39] The art design used deliberate "color cues" to signal "unspoken political tensions" and the characters' "state of mind".[39]
Broadcast
The series is streamed on Amazon Prime Video.[7][36][40] The first season premiered on November 19, 2025.[9][5] The season premiered with three episodes, followed by one per week for eight episodes total.[41][21] As a preview, Amazon offered free early access to the first episode on YouTube from November 14–16, 2025.[23]
Marketing
During 2024 San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), Amazon Studios released the first sneak peak of series with a voiced animatic showing Jester and Fjord meeting for the first time.[42][43][44] At the next SDCC in 2025, character art and a clip from the first season was released along with the premiere date announcement.[3][9][5]Polygon highlighted that the group is called the Mighty Nein "despite there not being nine" adventurers in the group and the SDCC panel clip "riffs that there are, in fact, only seven of them".[4]
Reception
The series holds a 100% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "The Mighty Nein is a terrific continuation of Critical Role with a highly engaging and expansive franchise that gives D&D fans rich characters to root for."[45] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 80 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[46]
Notes
12Typhros is a fictional neurodegenerative disease that affects certain consecuted individuals whose repeated reincarnations leave them unable to integrate the accumulated memories of their prior lives. Individuals with this disease are executed in the Kyrn Dynasty.[17][18]
↑The first episode was released on November 14, 2025, on YouTube for a limited time ahead of the series premiere date.[23]
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