In my defense, they named it that. Not me.
I'm going to level with you, I started listening to this podcast LONG before I ever played a game of Dungeons and Dragons. The McElroy family (Justin McElroy, the eldest brother; Travis McElroy, the middlest brother; Griffin McElroy, the youngest brother; and Clint McElroy, their father) have been playing D&D on their podcast, The Adventure Zone, since 2014, but gained popularity from their other work way earlier.
The Adventure Zone was supposed to be a one-time thing — just a way the brothers got their dad involved with their work while trying out a fun game. What ended up happening is the four McElroys accidentally made one of the most popular Dungeons and Dragon podcasts of all time, ranking right up there with Critical Role on nearly every list.
(Seriously, take a second and Google "most popular DnD podcasts." If you're too lazy to do it, take a wild guess what's the first result.)
It's not the game that makes the show so compelling. The McElroys notoriously ignore the rules of the game for sake of fun, and the stories that they craft in-game — while thrilling, hilarious, and genuinely heartbreaking, at times — are interwoven with childish humor and the occasional, tasteful F-bomb. It's the lads themselves that make every second of this show the legendary podcast that it is.
These bastards have left me in hysterics since I first went into high school. Ignore the nerdy game for a second, and let me break this down for you:
Justin is the surprisingly functional marriage between the wine aunt and the beer uncle. Travis is every impulsive thought you've ever had, wrapped in a tragically, beautifully wholesome package. Griffin McElroy is the part of my brain that got me in trouble in my "gifted kid" class. And Clint is the father that everyone, EVERYONE, wishes they had.
They've not only influenced my sense of humor, but my writing style, if you can believe that.
I won't spoil anything about the story in case someone reading this is genuinely interested, but what I WILL say is that if you liked being read books as a kid, enjoy improv comedy, and want to know what a family who has an enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner sounds like, just listen to a couple episodes. You don't have to like Dungeons and Dragons to find the McElroys' family podcast to be witty, charming, and wholesome.
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