Among Us, the pandemic-era video game sensation, is getting an animated series adaptation. As per Variety, CBS Studios has partnered with indie developer Innersloth to bring the series to a mainstream audience. Owen Dennis, the animator-artist best known for Infinity Train, will act as the creator and executive producer of the animated series. Currently, there is no information on what streaming platform or network it will arrive on, but the official logline notes that the show will follow the same premise as the video game, where some crew members on a spaceship have been replaced by shapeshifting aliens, slowly sabotaging the ship and killing everyone. It’s a whodunnit, essentially.
The report adds that Titmouse (Big Mouth) will serve as the animation studio for the Among Us series and that it’s covered by The Animation Guild instead of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) — so the ongoing writers’ strike shouldn’t affect the production. As mentioned before, Dennis will lead the charge on the series, having previously worked on Cartoon Network’s Infinity Train, which is set on a seemingly endless train travelling through a barren landscape. It’s unclear how they plan on incorporating dialogue exchanges between the crew members since the arguments and player testimonies were the most crucial parts of deciphering who the imposter is. Just standard voice acting, maybe? I’d also imagine that the big reveal will be saved for the season finale.
Among Us was originally released in 2018, but exploded onto the internet in mid-2020 when Twitch streamer Chance ‘Sodapoppin’ Morris booted up the game to over 20,000 viewers, piquing interest from viewers and countless other streamers who followed suit. It broke multiple records, topping the Steam player base charts and mobile downloads — garnering 4 billion views on YouTube by the end of 2020. The COVID-19 lockdown was also a good catalyst for its surge in popularity, as people who couldn’t interact with others in real life would do so in-game. Its success also spawned a virtual reality game called Among Us VR and plans for a potential sequel — though the latter was then abandoned to focus on reworking the main game.
In recent times, Hollywood has been unable to ignore the influence of video games, cashing in on existing popularity to create more and more adaptations. We started the year with HBO’s live-action adaptation of The Last of Us, which is a leading force for the awards season. Not to mention, Sony’s PlayStation Productions unit is looking to expand into mainstream media, with a David Harbour-led Gran Turismo movie releasing in August and even a God of War series order from Amazon Prime Video. Even the BAFTA-winning horde-slaying game Vampire Survivors is getting turned into an animated show.
Currently, there is no release window or streaming/ network details for the Among Us animated series.