Season Review: Harmonquest Season Three

There was a time when EVERYONE was doing animated spin-offs of podcasts. Nowadays it’s a little different leaving the production of these to the likes of really just Rooster Teeth and this VRV adaptation of a once-popular segment on Dan Harmon’s Harmontown podcast that, after plucking an unknowing Spencer Crittenden from a live podcast recording to help out, which has endured three seasons regardless of the show’s tendency to land on streaming services that are on their way to death. VRV is no exception here as parent company Crunchyroll will inevitably join the likes of Rooster Teeth and HBO Now to form the Megazord streaming service known as HBO Max set to release in Spring 2020. So, does the show deserve a pickup for a fourth season?

As someone who doesn’t care about RPGs in any form, I can safely say, yes. Harmonquest, even moving past its nerd-centric roots, is a solid animated series in its own right with fun characters, stellar guest voices, and usually Dan Harmon gorging himself with pretzels. For those that don’t know, the show stars Dan Harmon, Jeff B. Davis, Erin McGathy, and usually a guest star as a traveling party that can usually be seen fighting off the undead, goblins, and whatever else Spencer Crittenden thinks up. The series is produced by Starburns Industries and is usually directed by the always dependable Dominic Polcino who gets to showcase his roots from The Simpsons by making sure every animated sequence comes chock-full of gags. Nothing is scripted in this show, it’s basically a nerd improv show, and yes the result is an episode that can go off the rails with no real help from the show’s namesake, but Spencer does the unenviable task of trying to keep everyone on the narrow path by pacing his story and manning the dice rolls with his almost household-worthy saying…”YOU DO THAT!”

The term “celebrity” really took a hit with this season’s guest stars though I suppose that’s the price you pay when former regulars like Kumail Nanjiani get famous, the season still featured more-than-solid contributions from the likes of Reggie Watts, Tom Kenny, and Joel Kim Booster. Streaming services are starving for original content and this series is more solid than any of the other ‘role-playing shows’ strewn across the internet now, however, will the already hardcore fanbase wait another two-friggin year for another season? By then the streaming service market will have matured a bit and there may not be any room.