Dungeons and Dragons has seen a rise in popularity over the last half a decade, due in part to the release of 5th edition in 2014, but also thanks to the exposure it has seen in popular TV shows.
While some obvious shows come to mind (Community, The Big Bang Theory), there are also a few that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to see the Tabletop RPG getting a spotlight.
- See also:
We’ve put together a list of all the shows with a game of D&D so that you can check out how your favorite pastime is played on primetime.
Community
We couldn’t start this list anywhere else. Community creator Dan Harmon is an obvious fan of D&D, having featured the TTRPG in two episodes focused entirely around the game.
Dan Harmon’s Rick and Morty has seen a collaboration with the game through the Dungeons & Dragons vs. Rick and Morty box set, and Harmon also organized the HarmonQuest TV series, which follows him and his friends through a live-action, animated campaign.
Stranger Things
Likely the biggest influence for D&D recent surge in popularity, Netflix’s Stranger Things opens its pilot episode with a basement-dwelling game of good old-fashioned Dungeons and Dragons.
Much like Rick and Morty, there now exists a Stranger Things D&D Starter Set allowing fans of the show to take on the Demogorgon for themselves.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
A game of D&D was played in the finale of the popular vampire-slaying show, though unfortunately the characters were not taking on Strahd in castle Ravenloft — I’d put my money on Buffy in that particular match up.
Freaks and Geeks
Probably the best example of how a game of D&D can bring together even the unlikeliest of friends, the Freaks and Geeks episode shows the titular geeks and one of the freaks going on a beautifully montaged adventure at the kitchen table.
That 70s show
It wouldn’t be the 70s without a reference to the game that was born in the era. The show even managed to get Alice Cooper to make a cameo for a smoke-filled basement sesh.
Big Bang Theory
Leave it to Big Bang Theory to make the game of D&D not just a one-off episode but a recurring scene throughout the seasons of the show.
Riverdale
While it may not be called Dungeons and Dragons in the Archie-series inspired cacophony that is Riverdale, it’s clearly the real-world equivalent of the show’s Griffins and Gargoyles game that plays a significant role in the plot of the third season.
Did we forget your favorite D&D-playing show? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll update the article accordingly!
- See also:
