{"id":66652,"date":"2026-10-14T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/?guid=38709022a18056db0729eb5a7207c4ad"},"modified":"2026-10-14T20:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T20:00:00","slug":"dungeon-crawler-carl-author-matt-dinniman-talks-inspirations-success-and-the-upcoming-peacock-tv-series-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/2026\/10\/14\/dungeon-crawler-carl-author-matt-dinniman-talks-inspirations-success-and-the-upcoming-peacock-tv-series-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ author Matt Dinniman talks inspirations, success, and the upcoming Peacock TV series (interview)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n
\n

Fall has officially arrived, and as autumn leaves blaze in vivid colors, there is no better time to plunge into the imaginative world of New York Times best-selling author Matt Dinniman's \"Dungeon Crawler Carl\", the wildly addictive science fantasy book series that's taking the world by storm.<\/p>

Even if you haven't read them, you've probably seen folks carrying these books, emblazoned with their loud, neon-colored covers, at your neighborhood coffee house. You'll see it even more in the future, too, as a streaming adaptation of the novels is coming to Peacock, with Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door and co-showrunners Eric Heisserer and Chris Yost at the helm.<\/p>

The eighth book in the series, \"A Parade of Horribles<\/strong><\/u><\/a>,\" dropped in May of 2026 and continues the story of Carl and his ex-girlfriend\u2019s precocious pussy cat named Princess Donut as they try to navigate the dangerously daunting levels of a lethal doomsday dungeon for an intergalactic television show deciding the fate of humanity and the planet Earth. <\/p>

\"eight<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

All eight covers for the \"Dungeon Crawler Carl\" sci-fi fantasy book series <\/span>(Image credit: Penguin Random House)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>

Think Douglas Adams's \"The Hitchhiker\u2019s Guide to the Galaxy\" meets \"The Running Man\" and \"Ready Player One\" in the \"Dungeons & Dragons\" RPG realm, and you've got a pretty good idea of the stylistic narrative you'll soon discover when you dare to enter Dinniman's slightly demented literary world.<\/p>

\"The genesis is that I\u2019ve been writing my whole life, and I have a thousand story ideas,\" Dinniman tells Space on the origins of his sci-fi sensation. \"I\u2019ve kept a running list of ideas since childhood, and this one had been on there for some time. The line in my list for this particular one was 'Alien' game show.'\"<\/p>

With over 14 million copies of the \"Dungeon Crawler Carl\" series sold to date, spooky season is the ideal jumping-on moment so you can share your favorite sadistic dungeon level kill next time you're at a cool cocktail party or fun family function!<\/p>

\"Dungeon<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

Peacock is bringing Matt Dinniman's sensational series to streaming! <\/span>(Image credit: Peacock)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>

\"The success is a whole other question. I think I just happened to hit the right story at the right time,\" admits Dinniman. \"It's about a man pushing back against impossible odds. The antagonist isn't just a single person or entity, but an entire system designed to crush any life out of him, all for the entertainment of the masses. That sort of story seems to really be resonating right now. Plus there's a talking cat in it.\"<\/p>

Dinniman has described the most recently-released sequel as \"the Carl and Donut version of Mariokart\u2014only deadlier,\" with the cruel dungeon architects tightening their brutal grip. As the current king of LitRPG titles in circulation, \"Dungeon Crawler Carl\" is the next best thing to a living video game.<\/p>

\"Luckily I\u2019m still in love with this story, and I am in love with writing it,\" he admits. \"It hasn\u2019t gotten old yet. The end is in sight, and I\u2019m more sad than anything that it'll eventually be over.\"<\/p>

\"a<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

\"Dungeon Crawler Carl's\" mastermind author Matt Dinniman <\/span>(Image credit: Tony Dinniman)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>

An episodic series adaptation seems like a no-brainer, and Peacock has wisely tapped into the considerable talents of both Heisserer (\"Arrival,\" \"Bird Box\") and Yost (\"Thor: The Dark World,\" \"Thor: Ragnarok\") for this ambitious TV project.<\/p>

\"Both Chris and Eric have a great amount of experience in Hollywood, but more importantly, both have read the books and like them,\" Dinniman notes. \"Chris is a mega fan, and Eric knows more about gaming than any adult probably should. That's a great combination.\"<\/p>

Dinniman also confirmed to us that he's serving as co-executive producer on the show, and will be involved throughout the production.<\/p>

\"The most important thing to preserve, I think, is the tone, which will also be the most challenging,\" states Dinniman. \"Thankfully, the team that's been assembled is up to the challenge, and I can't wait for the world to see how it turns out.\" <\/p>

With eight books released so far (and another two to come), you've got plenty of reading to do before the Peacock show and\/or the next book lands. You can find the Dungeon Crawler Carl book series in your local bookstores and on <\/strong><\/em>Amazon<\/strong><\/em><\/u><\/a>. It's also available via <\/strong><\/em>Kindle e-readers<\/strong><\/em><\/u><\/a> and as an <\/strong><\/em>audiobook<\/strong><\/em><\/u><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/article>\n \n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘Luckily I\u2019m still in love with this story, and I am in love with writing it.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":588,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2800,3045],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","category-space-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66652"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/588"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66652"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66653,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66652\/revisions\/66653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}