28 June 2023 , 16:00
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Innersloth’s breakout Twitch hit is the latest in a long line of successful video games set to receive a TV series adaptation.
Is there anyone on this planet that hasn’t at least heard of Among Us by this point? I doubt it. After all, it feels like almost everybody with a PC or phone played the online social deduction game during lockdown to pass the time and stay in touch with people. That’s why it’s easy to see why a TV show adaptation of the breakout Twitch hit by developer Innersloth has just been commissioned at CBS, the American TV network behind shows like The Good Wife, NCIS and Criminal Minds.
The Among Us animated series’ existence was revealed in an exclusive Variety report, which goes on to confirm that Innersloth is highly involved and said to to be working on it in partnership with CBS Eye Animated Productions and animation studio Titmouse – the latter being most known for Netflix’s Big Mouth. The premise of the TV show reads as follows: “Members of your crew have been replaced by an alien shapeshifter intent on causing confusion, sabotaging the ship, and killing everyone. Root out the ‘Impostor’ or fall victim to its murderous designs.”
From this brief snippet it’s clear that the animated show’s approach will adhere extremely closely to the concept of the original game, whereby members of a space crew must determine which players in the group are imposters working against the others. Sadly, it’s not confirmed which TV network or streaming service the Among Us animated TV show will come to just yet, but expect to find out when the show gets closer to release.
Suspicious minds
Well, it finally happened. An Among Us TV show was surely a question of when not if, given how rampantly the Hollywood system has been feverishly adapting videos games into movies and series so far. Arguably the most successful in terms of mainstream mindshare was HBO’s The Last of Us early this year, but Among Us is almost certainly a different beast.
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For one thing, it’s animated. And overall I’d say this is the best approach given the art style of the original Among Us game. If Titmouse and CBS Eye Animated Productions are smart, they’ll stay true to the lo-fi art style popularised when the game first launched. The report fails to mention whether or not the TV show adaptation will include voice work or remain silent, so I’m curious to see to see how it plays out.
The Variety report even neglects to mention if there will be a protagonist or not, but the premise referencing ‘you’ (as in the viewer) could potentially hint at a degree of interactivity on the audience’s part. More details are sure to come to light when the first trailer is released. Until then, it’s clear CBS is hoping to capitalise on the more than 4 billion views on YouTube the Among Us game has received so far.