On the evening of March 12, 2015, Critical Role had its first public showing. In a livestreamed event from a dimly lit studio in Burbank, eight players sat at a table immersed in a Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game for nearly three hours — their first foray in a form of storytelling that would bloom into an indie media empire, complete with an upcoming Amazon show.

Before C.R. began streaming shows on Twitch and YouTube, it started as a group of friends who knew each other from voice-over gigs in animation and video games playing D&D together. The first two sessions were at the L.A. apartment of Matthew Mercer, Critical Role’s long-standing dungeon master, and Marisha Ray, who is now the company’s creative director; they then moved to the house of Travis Willingham (now CEO) and Laura Bailey (who handles C.R.’s merchandise business). “It was an excuse to hang out together,” says cast member Liam O’Brien of the original D&D gathering. “It was just going to be one night of dumb fun, but we kept doing it.”

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NBC’s ‘Blindspot’ will leave you on the edge of your seat
This final season is jam packed with action

Host Jason Carr chatted with Ashely Johnson (Patterson) and Audrey Esparza (Tasha Zapata) from the series Blindspot about what viewers can expect for season 5.

Audrey explained that viewers will be left “breathless.” The seasons are usually 22 episodes long, but season 5 is only 11 episodes, so an action packed season should be expected. Ashley says there are “a lot of twists and turns” in the show, but the cast is happy to be a part of the wild ride.

Ashley also gave a shout out to Detroit and her hometown of Franklin. Ashely said she specifically misses the Franklin Cider Mill.

You can catch up on past episodes on NBC and Hulu.

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Also be sure to check out this podcast: How the Fuck Did You Get So Confident? with Rebecca Lee Robertson! Click on the photo below to be redirected to the podcast.