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Years before they were part of the Critical Role D&D role-playing crew, Ashley Johnson and Taliesin Jaffe were child actors — and they’re talking all about their experiences growing up in Hollywood in CR’s upcoming show “Weird Kids.”
“Weird Kids,” presented as a podcast-style conversation between Johnson and Jaffe, is “part hilarious confession, part heartfelt reflection and all-around love letter to anyone who has ever felt like an outsider,” Critical Role says.
The full 24-episode run of “Weird Kids” will be available exclusively through Critical Role’s membership service, Beacon ($5.99/month). The show will premiere on March 20, with a live “Weird Kids Launch Party” streamed on Beacon, YouTube and Twitch leading into the episode premiere. The first episode then will be available on-demand on March 25 on YouTube, Twitch, Beacon and podcast platforms; subsequent episodes will be released on Beacon every Tuesday at 12 p.m. Pacific.
In the show, Johnson (“The Last of Us,” “Blindspot” and Critical Role’s “The Legend of Vox Machina”) and Jaffe (“Hellsing,” “Vox Machina”) recall “the wild, weird, challenging and wonderful experiences that only child actors can truly understand,” the company says.
“We wanted to create a space where we could share the ridiculous, surreal and deeply personal stories that come with growing up in the industry,” Johnson said. “’Weird Kids’ is for anyone who’s ever felt like they didn’t quite fit in — and we can’t wait for people to join us at the table.”
Jaffe described the show as “a bit of nostalgia, a bit of history, plus a helping of personal issues and the inevitable eccentric trauma that comes along with it. I’m proud to bring you the conversational equivalent of watching a vintage moped run head first into the back of a comically 1930s produce truck.“
Johnson landed her breakout role at just 6 years old as Chrissy Seaver on hit sitcom “Growing Pains.” She went on to play Mark Margaret Doolan in “Phenom” and had roles in “Wings,” “ER,” “Jumanji” and others before becoming a voice actor in gaming and animation. Jaffe, meanwhile, made his big-screen debut alongside Michael Keaton in “Mr. Mom” and appeared in TV shows including “The Facts of Life,” “St. Elsewhere” and “She’s the Sheriff,” earning two Young Artist Awards along the way.
Johnson and Jaffe share what it’s like for child actors to navigate behind-the-scenes chaos, form friendships with fellow young actors and learn to embrace their quirks. “Through insider stories, bizarre childhood moments, and offbeat humor, ‘Weird Kids’ delivers raw conversations, genuine heart and plenty of laughs, making it a must-listen for both pop culture lovers and Critical Role fans alike,” the company says.
Critical Role started as a group of “nerdy voice-actor friends playing a tabletop game,” and they held their first D&D livestream in March 2015. Since then, Critical Role has won millions of fans (affectionately dubbed “Critters”) and the company has expanded into multiple lines of business. That includes both fiction and nonfiction books on the New York Times Best Seller list, comic books, graphic novels, collectibles, tabletop and roleplaying games, podcasts, live events and adult animation series “The Legend of Vox Machina” on Amazon Prime Video, which has been renewed for Season 4.
Watch the trailer for “Weird Kids”:
English (US) ·