I say this with love, but as both a viewer and a former union rep it really feels like the super short and packed shooting schedule for dimension 20 over the years has become detrimental to the cast and their ability to tell a coherent, satisfying story.
like yeah the clear exhaustion and delirium they end up with can make for hilarious performances (to the point I've needed to use my inhaler from laughing so much) but on both a human and a storytelling level, I don't want these people so exhausted and overwhelmed they can't even fully explain why they made the character decisions they did (or understand why other players might be reacting with confusion or frustration).
I don't want Brennan to have to end the show with a direct to camera psa spelling out what was supposed to be the entire message of the story because basically none of those plot points or themes were resolved in a too short season and rushed, unhinged finale. I don't want Brennan to say "I feel good that we had one solid beat of pathos and stakes", and also that he realised he fucked up and put them in an "off" vibe at the end of the penultimate episode that they couldn't get away from because the episodes were shot back-to-back.
I don't want them to be given only a handful of days in quick succession playing these characters with no opportunity to breath, rest, reflect or re-calibrate on who those characters are, why they're making the choices they are, how they fit into the story/world, what their personal arc could involve, or how their storylines will end.
I want the players to be having fun with their friends, that's obviously a big part of the draw of d20, but the other side of that is that they're not just friends hanging out — they're filming a show. they're specifically there to create a satisfying story together for an audience to watch.
I know I have no experience of the realities of tv production and shooting schedules, but the "it's 3am in a warehouse" jokes have gone from being funny to making me kind of sad. like does it really have to be this way? from a worker's rights perspective? can we not give both the cast and crew even just a few more days breathing room? I'd happily wait longer to get new seasons if it meant the people making them weren't burning out and becoming delirious and doing a rush job even they seem kind of uninterested in/dissatisfied with by the end in order to make them.
