On 17 March 2020, Critical Role announced[1][2] that it was suspending all live broadcasts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Marisha Ray later clarified on Twitter that they did not wish to put any unnecessary stress on the crew, nor did they want to affect the overall experience of the show best achieved sitting and playing together at a table, so there were no plans to stream the campaign via Skype, Zoom, or other online venues.[3][4] The last live broadcast of Critical Role before the hiatus was 12 March 2020, on the five-year anniversary of the show, "High Seas, High Stakes" (2x99).
On 12 June 2020, Critical Role announced[5] that they were actively developing plans for their return in accordance with local guidelines. On 2 July 2020, they returned to broadcasting Critical Role in a pre-recorded format.[6] A socially distant version of Talks Machina began airing bi-weekly on 15 September 2020.
The company continued to produce limited content during the hiatus, including:
- Narrative Telephone
- AWNP Unplugged
- Yee-Haw Off the Ranch
- Explorer's Guide to Wildemount Q&A and Fireside Chat with Matthew Mercer
- Mighty Vibes (aired 23 April, 21 May, and 10 July 2020)
- CR Guide (aired 9 June 2020)
Of these, Narrative Telephone, AWNP:Unplugged, Yee-Haw Off the Ranch, and Mighty Vibes continued at least briefly past the resumption of the second campaign.
References[]
- ↑
IMPORTANT BROADCAST UPDATE (March 2020) on CritRole.com
- ↑
Critical Role (@CriticalRole) on Twitter: "The health and safety of our CR family is important to us. Because of that, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily stop all live broadcasts, effective 3/17. We will provide updates via social media as well as our website." (2020-03-17). (backup link)
- ↑ Marisha Ray (@Marisha_Ray) on Twitter: "For those who have asked about the possibility of #CriticalRole streaming via Skype or from our home PCs: I hear you, but this isn't as simple to achieve as one may think for the level of quality we wish to maintain for our content. (1/2)" (2020-03-17). (backup link)
- ↑
Marisha Ray (@Marisha_Ray) on Twitter: "Trust me when I say we have talked through our options, and ultimately we don't want to put any undue stress on our crew, or affect the overall experience of our show that is best achieved when we're sitting around the table and playing together. 💗 We'll keep you posted." (2020-03-17). (backup link)
- ↑ Critical Role (@CriticalRole) on Twitter: "We are actively developing plans for our return in accordance with the latest local guidelines for production. Once we have an exact timeline, we will announce it ASAP. Thank you for your patience and support during this hiatus. <3" (2020-06-12).
- ↑ The YouTube announcement of their return.
Art:
- ↑ Photograph of the empty Critical Role set, by Chris Lockey (source). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.