HarmonQuest

Did You Know?

• All ten episodes of the first season were released on July 14, 2016, on Seeso.
• Rights to HarmonQuest were sold to Otter Media's VRV streaming service in June 2017.
• The second season premiered on VRV Select on September 15 and concluded on November 17, 2017.

Production

Before the series existed, Harmon ended his weekly podcast Harmontown with a Dungeons & Dragons-style bit run by Crittenden. Harmon first pitched HarmonQuest as a cheap online show, which caught the attention of NBC Universal digital executive Evan Shapiro. The project got a ten-episode order when Seeso, an NBC-owned comedy channel, was launched. Produced by Universal Cable Productions and Starburns Industries, the show is taped in front of a live audience at Victory Studios in Glendale, California, with animation added later. A one-hour filming session is cut down to a 25-minute episode. Harmon has pointed to The Ricky Gervais Show, which also blends live and animated content, as an inspiration.

Reception

The series has been compared to Critical Role, a web series streaming on Twitch since 2015. Unlike Critical Role's long-form episodes often exceeding four hours, HarmonQuest has been praised for its accessibility to casual and beginner audiences. Javon Phillips of The Los Angeles Times noted that the show makes its ventures less time-consuming and increases watchability through animated segments in half-hour episodes, with game master Spencer Crittenden treating it as a show rather than just players rolling dice.