L.A. by Night
A vampire actual play series set in Los Angeles.
L.A. by Night is a web series where players take on the roles of vampires, following the fifth edition of Vampire: The Masquerade. Its story takes place in the World of Darkness, after the events of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, and explores Kindred life in Los Angeles. The show began in September 2018 and wrapped up its main narrative with a fifth season in 2021.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Horror
- Urban fantasy
- Actual play
- Based on
- Vampire: The Masquerade 5th edition
- Starring
- Jason Carl
- Alexander Ward
- Cynthia Marie
- B. Dave Walters
- Erika Ishii
- Xander Jeanneret
- Josephine McAdam
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Seasons
- 5
- Episodes
- 63
- Location
- Los Angeles, California
Facts from the source article.
Premise
The series deals with the fallout from Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines for Kindred society in Los Angeles, centering on a different group of characters. It follows an Anarch coterie after a vampire fledgling named Annabelle joins. Victor and Nelli attempt to establish baronies while fending off human Hunters and the Second Inquisition. Success places the coterie in the path of the Camarilla, requiring solid ties among barons for an Anarch revolt. Matters are complicated by political squabbles and events such as the Beckoning.
Production
L.A. by Night first aired in September 2018 as a Geek & Sundry production, with the company handling the initial three seasons, which are still viewable on their YouTube channel. The show was part of a Halloween 2018 lineup called Nerdoween, and it was designed in part to drive interest in Legendary Digital Networks' Alpha streaming service, debuting both there and on Geek & Sundry's Twitch stream. During those early seasons, guest roles were filled by actors from other LDN shows, such as Marisha Ray and Taliesin Jaffe from Critical Role, Jessica Chobot and Hector Navarro from Mothership, and Jason C. Miller from Starter Kit. Alpha shut down on March 31, 2019, after Critical Role left the platform, just six days before the season two finale was scheduled. The epilogue, Dark Hallways, aired exclusively on Twitch on April 5 instead. That June, Geek & Sundry turned the first two seasons into a podcast for Spotify, including a special recorded at Wondercon that takes place between seasons two and three. Season three ran on Twitch from June to September of that year. As Geek & Sundry shrank and underwent major layoffs in 2020, Paradox Interactive, which owns the World of Darkness intellectual property, took over production. Seasons four and five were broadcast exclusively on the World of Darkness Twitch channel before being archived on their YouTube channel. Xander Jeanneret and Josephine McAdam joined the main cast for those seasons. In August 2021, it was announced that season five would wrap up the current storyline, though Jason Carl, the show's Storyteller and a World of Darkness brand marketing manager, said it was not the final chapter for L.A. By Night. In June 2022, World of Darkness revealed that Carl would lead a sequel series, NY by Night, set to premiere on July 1, 2022.
Reception
Amanda Farough of VentureBeat highlighted L.A. by Night as an actual play show sponsored by a TTRPG publisher, created to give Vampire: The Masquerade more visibility among a wider roleplaying audience through a partnership with Geek & Sundry. The publisher uses actual play shows for brand awareness and building a global audience, not to drive sales, despite the show hitting over a million impressions per season. L.A. by Night was included in TNW's roundup of podcasts that got readers through 2020, described as pure escapism resembling a Zoom meeting of professional actors playing Vampire: The Masquerade, offering an excellent way to see how tabletop roleplaying is done by skilled players, with an effect reminiscent of old-timey radio shows. Tristan Greene, in a separate TNW article, called L.A. by Night his favorite part of the extended World of Darkness universe and his favorite vampire TV show ever, noting it acts as an entry point to tabletop gaming and the World of Darkness. Greene wrote that the cast seamlessly explains rules and gameplay as they go, helping newcomers understand what a good game of Vampire should look like, and that the show is a work of passion rather than a brand-placement advertisement, with the genuine glee of the cast making it special.
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