Now, Dungeons and Dragons has left the sphere of "Stranger Things" and come into its own as not only a fun medium for friendly roleplay but also as a cinematic powerhouse.
2 years after the "Stranger Things" premiere, a video named "The Beginning Begins (Ep. 1) | Fantasy High" debuted on YouTube. The video was posted by a relatively new and unknown channel called Dimension 20. The channel was, at the time, parented by the College Humor company, which is now known as Dropout TV. The show, "Fantasy High", immediately entrapped millions within its snare with its cast of crazy yet lovable characters, each of which were fantastical, teenaged beings, and its favorable standing with the YouTube algorithm. The video was blasted out everywhere. The production value, though small, packed a punch as it brought elements of sound design, art, set design, and voice acting to a game that is often played and enjoyed without all of this spectacle.
This video, in conjunction with the continuous seasons of "Stranger Things", introduced a plethora of young kids to the world of DnD. Forums online during this time were filled with newcomers asking about how to begin playing the game, and Dropout TV’s popularity only grew as they upped production value and introduced new DnD shows, each showcasing players from a range of beginners to experienced.
Dropout TV continued to foster their popularity within the DnD community and newcomers by producing a multitude of new DnD campaign television shows. Now, with a library of over 30 campaigns (some with additional seasons) and spin-off content, Dimension 20 has grown to have a status and production value equal to some of the television shows you may see at the Emmys. In fact, Dimension 20 was able to sell out Madison Square Garden for one of their live shows in 2025!
Now, Dimension 20 was in no way the first DnD campaign to level up from being a couple friends playing together into a full-blown production — even though it was a major force for introducing DnD into the mainstream world. One of Dimension 20’s most famous predecessors is that of the channel Critical Role. Once a small private campaign that was eventually streamed on Twitch is now a $15 million company. The campaign was led by professional Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer.
Unlike Dimension 20, though, the Critical Role campaign began before the origin of their current YouTube channel. This made it a bit more difficult for new fans to track down and watch the original storyline, which exists on their original channel Geek & Sundry. The campaign is also years long (with over 100 episodes), and even though the storyline was amazing, Critical Role wasn’t seen by the masses as the best show for new players to sink their teeth into, as a good amount of context came from their previous private sessions.
Their Amazon animated television series "Vox Machina" , however, is also cited as a major influence for DnD’s trend into the mainstream world and compacts the original storyline into a more digestible format. The characters are even voiced by the original campaign members. The series is on its 4th season with its 5th and final season on its way. Critical Role, as a channel, has now expanded greatly. Multiple campaigns are run out of the platform similar to that of Dimension 20.
