THE MIGHTY NEIN’s Showrunner Talks Easter Eggs, Essek, and Hidden Matt Mercers (Interview) Rotem Rusak | usagoldmines.com

It is THE time to be a Critter. Critical Role is on a hot streak that shows no sign of stopping. With Critical Role Campaign 4 only just getting started, there’s already something new to look forward to. Yes, we’re talking about Prime Video’s animated series The Mighty Nein. After the success of The Legend of Vox Machina, Prime Video is taking on Critical Role‘s second campaign and bringing it to you in a whole new way. We at Nerdist are incredibly excited for this new series, and recently got to sit down with showrunner Tasha Huo to discuss all things The Mighty Nein, including Yasha’s fleshed-out journey, Essek’s graduation from NPC to main character, bringing to life Jester and Fjord’s first meeting, hidden Matt Mercer’s, and more. Dive into The Mighty Nein with our full Tasha Huo interview below.

Adapting The Mighty Nein From Campaign to TV Series

Nerdist: Can you talk a little bit about the process of adapting The Mighty Nein campaign into a series, and did you make any changes or expansions to it?

Tasha Huo: Yes, to all of the above. Yeah. I mean, Critical Role‘s live show for The Mighty Nein is about 600 hours long, which, unless we get a million seasons, is really not going to fit into a show. So it really was about finding “What is the heart of the story?” that they’re all going after. Looking at the end game now that, of course, we know it, how do we sort of backtrack and work towards that idea?

But it’s also thinking about where the characters were in the game. If you took it as a show, there’s no way they would trust each other enough in that first episode to go hang out together at a carnival. So a big part of the adaptation was thinking about, “Okay, well, where are these characters actually coming from?” And now that we have the time and space to really show them getting together for the first time, let’s take it, let’s take those 44 minutes and really see who they are, why they don’t trust each other when they first meet, and why it’s actually hard for them to come together. Because that’s more likely what would happen given where all the characters are coming from. But in D&D, you obviously all play with your friends, you just jump in.

The Mighty Nein is a darker story. There’s more of a morally gray cast than in Vox Machina. So how do you delve into that darkness while still keeping the lighthearted, sincere energy that Critical Role loves to bring to the table?

Tasha Huo: I mean, it’s easy in that the characters are themselves so funny; even in their darkest moments, they were just always funny at the table. I like to say that the show is a bit of a roller coaster. So you’re going to have these really deep, dark, sad moments as we’re learning about these characters and their traumas. But then they’re just so funny together. And that is kind of the theme of the show: community and friends and coming together and finding people that you can actually trust will bring you out of that darkness. And so we’re aware of that theme, and the ride that you’ll go on will sort of mirror that idea.

And can you share how much material will be covered in season one from The Mighty Nein campaign? Is it kind of chronological? Are you hopping around?

… You are sealing your lips for the audio.

Tasha Huo: Let’s go on the adventure.

Essek Becomes a Main Character in Prime Video’s The Mighty Nein (And We Get to See His Dark Side)

What was your favorite offscreen moment, one that didn’t happen in the campaign, that you got to introduce in The Mighty Nein TV series?

Tasha Huo: I would say pretty much all of the Essek stuff, because all of that was just sort of told to us way late in the campaign and you’re like, wait, there’s this whole storyline that exists and just because the players didn’t go down that path, we didn’t get to see, well, how about we see that now? So that’s super fun.

There are no NPCs in a TV show. Everybody’s a player. How do you think that evolves Essek’s character in The Mighty Nein TV series? What does that give him in your story?

Tasha Huo: Yeah, I mean, you really have to start asking a lot of questions, the way any writer would, about what he was thinking in this moment? What was he feeling? Why did he make the choices that he did? And I love so much his arc of becoming ultimately Caleb’s greatest love. But that arc is so fascinating, and I want to start at the beginning of that, right? And really see him make those really bad choices because when we meet him, he’s never felt love, and he is a sad hot boy, and he’s done really terrible things. And I remember when Matt Mercer, in the live show, he talked about how, basically, Essek is a war criminal. And, I was like, wait, but we didn’t get to see any of that.

Well, I love a hot angsty drow, so I’m so ready for it.

Tasha Huo: You’re going to get a lot of it in The Mighty Nein. It’ll be great.

Yasha’s Journey in The Mighty Nein Series

What was one of your favorite characters or journeys to bring to life?

A lot of the Yasha stuff, like “What was Yasha doing?” We get to explore that in The Mighty Nein. And I think that is probably just as exciting as Essek because we love Yasha so much. We all do. So to give her something really active to be doing in that time, that she was actually probably doing as Yasha, the character, has been really awesome to be able to show.

Since you bring it up, Can you tease a bit about what Yasha is doing that we didn’t get to see before in The Mighty Nein series?

Tasha Huo: I can say that when we were thinking about story for her of what she can be doing, we just looked to her backstory. We just looked to what was already there rather than inventing something new. So what you’re going to be able to see when you watch is again, all the stuff we didn’t get to see that sort of was in Ashley Johnson’s head that Ashley and Matt [Mercer] had been working on together, but never really got to come to the fore. We get to dig deeper into that stuff. So I’m really excited for that. It feels like new story, even though it was always baked into who she is.

Hidden Matt Mercers Return in The Mighty Nein and Other Easter Eggs

In Vox Machina, there were a lot of hidden Matt Mercers in the background, and obviously, he will be voicing Essek, but will that tradition continue in The Mighty Nien?

Tasha Huo: Yeah, it’s really nice to have Matthew as Essek because we can have him as a main character as is well-deserved. But of course, there are always hidden Matthews.

And in that topic, are there any really subtle Easter eggs that you’ve hidden that you’re like “maybe fans won’t see” that we can watch out for?

Tasha Huo: I’m going to say that there’s not just one. There are many. So if you are a fan of the campaign, watch carefully watch again, because you’ll see that we did spend a lot of time thinking about what’s in the background, what are some thematic motifs back there that we’re all going to realize that other people who have never seen the show would never see. So there’s a lot. I can’t just point to one.

No one unique one that you had a special fun with on The Mighty Nein?

I would say look for the eyes.

The characters of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein have only ever met in one non-canon one-shot. Is there any chance of a Prime Video universe crossover?

Tasha Huo: That would be amazing. Yeah, as we know, The Mighty Nein takes place in the same universe as The Legend of Vox Machina, and it’s 20 years apart, but they exist in the same universe. So we are very aware of that, and who knows.

Jester and Fjord’s Relationship Blossoms in The Mighty Nein Series (And We Get to See How They Meet)

The relationship between Jester and Fjord is one of Critical Role fans all the time favorites. I believe they just got married. What was it like developing that brand of Tusk Love in The Mighty Nein?

Tasha Huo: So fun. It’s so fun because Jester and Fjord, when they first meet, are such oil and water in so many ways, and she is all brightness and cupcakes, and really sees the world in just the absolute opposite light, is poor Ford, who’s not coming from a good place. And so getting to see those two together at the start is just so great, especially because if you watch Critical Role, you know that Travis was trying so hard not to do that. [Be in a romance storyline]. And so that resistance was very much a part of Fjord’s character, and we’re going to see that play out. It’s excellent, and it’s a timeless love story, and it’s so great to go to the beginning of it.

As you built that romance in a more narrative way, were there any scenes that you got to add in between them? Any cute moments?

Tasha Huo: Yeah, it was really fun to actually see like the Session Zero where they first met in The Mighty Nein series. So it was fun to talk to Travis about “what was that Session Zero for you?” Because we never got to see it and actually show that on-screen.

Guest Stars

The Mighty Nein has so many incredible guest stars, and we just heard about some more yesterday. Was there any star that really surprised you with their performance, or any fun moments creating those characters?

Tasha Huo: Surprised me with their performance… I mean, they’re all amazing, and so I expected nothing less. They hit and exceeded every time. I mean, Nathan Fillion, as Sam said in the panel, is the most Nathan Fillion that he can be. And he was absolutely perfect in the show. Tim McGraw, I guess, was surprising because I love him and I know that I’ve seen him in some of his live-action shows, but he’s never done animation before, so we sort of just threw him in the water and it’s like go.

And had he heard of Critical Role before?

Tasha Huo: He had not, but afterwards he was like, “Oh, I get it now.”

Amazing. And how do you feel you kind of married that sort of country sensibility with this fantasy world? How did that work?

Tasha Huo: What’s going to be so special about Critical Role is this blending of worlds that you don’t expect. And the fact that Travis brought in that Texas accent and then finding this country icon to do a mentor role was amazing. And he did such a great job. And we wanted someone who you would buy as someone who could mentor someone like Fjord, who you see as the strong character kind of already in many ways. And he just knocked it out of the park. I mean, for someone who’s never done animation before, he killed it.

Are there any other guest stars that you haven’t announced yet for The Mighty Nein? Or are they all out there now?

Tasha Huo: There are a lot of other smaller roles that are peppered with amazing people as well, which will come out, I’m sure, closer to.

And did you create any original characters for The Mighty Nein show that didn’t appear in the campaign?

Tasha Huo: Yeah, you definitely have to do that to kind of fill out the world, and you just sort of assume off-screen that Beau did X, Y, or Z, but she probably ran into someone, and we have to show that scene. So now we’ve invented a character for her to interact with. So yeah, we filled out the world and really made it come alive.

Get Excited for The Mighty Nein

What would you say to viewers who are new to Critical Role to get them excited about The Mighty Nein?

Tasha Huo: A good question. It feels like you have to know all kinds of lore to get there, but you absolutely don’t. We’ve definitely designed the show to be, you don’t need to know anything about D&D, you don’t need to know anything about fantasy or Critical Role. You don’t even have to have heard of them. And you can still really access the show because ultimately it’s about very human things. And we were in the writer’s room very, very adamant about all these characters, even though they’re in a high fantasy world, being extremely relatable, extremely human, and feel like us. So it’s accessible to everybody.

And what would you say to longtime Critters to get them extra hype for this show? Not that they need any help.

Tasha Huo: I would say that this is the show that you’ve been waiting for. I think for The Mighty Nein, we’ve all been wanting to see these characters come alive and see the depth of their story, and in this kind of storytelling format. And it’s the exact show that I would want as a Critter. So I’m really excited for everybody to finally see it. It’s going to be great to just have them back.

Critters Are in Good Hands with Tasha Huo

And what was your history as a Critter?

Tasha Huo: I fell in love with The Mighty Nein first. And I had been a huge fan of it. I listened to it a few times before I got the call for this job, and I was immediately like, yes, please. I think I was the only showrunner in the world who had actually watched all of the show.

Are you a long-time Dungeons & Dragons player, yourself?

Tasha Huo: Actually, Critical Role got me into D&D,  The Mighty Nein got me into D&D, and also into DMing. Being able to watch Matt Mercer and how good he is, and how the players are as well. They’re just the best players. So getting to see how that actually worked, I was like, “Oh, D&D now makes sense to me.” It had been so intimidating, and I played it when I was a little kid, but not as an adult. So it was nice to come back to it because of that.

And what do you nerd out about?

Tasha Huo: Oh my gosh, yes. Everything D&D, everything. Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. Those are my huge fandoms. I’m a Hufflepuff, much to Travis’s chagrin. We fight about it all the time, and right now I’m deep into Delicious in Dungeon and Apothecary Diaries.

Prime Video’s newest Critical Role series, The Mighty Nein, releases on November 19, 2025. It will debut with its first three episodes.

The post THE MIGHTY NEIN’s Showrunner Talks Easter Eggs, Essek, and Hidden Matt Mercers (Interview) appeared first on Nerdist.

This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak

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