Dozens of comedy TV shows, from South Park to Community, have been more than happy to make fun of video games in special, one-off episodes, but few have been smart or brave enough to devote themselves to satirising the medium entirely.
If anyone can do it, though, it's the comedy triumvirate of Veep writer Jon Brown and Peep Show creators Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, who have teamed up to develop Dead Pixels, a new British sitcom airing on E4 later this year.
Dead Pixels is all about three friends enraptured by their shared love of fictional MMORPG Kingdom Scrolls (geddit?), and the show follows their exploits both in and out of the real world as they try to balance their gaming obsession with the demands of modern life. Watch the first trailer for Dead Pixels above.
As you can see, the Dead Pixels team hasn't half-baked its conceit, creating and animating its own original video game to blend live action laughs with the character's virtual exploits inside the strange fantasy world of Kingdom Scrolls.
The trailer also shows off Dead Pixels' brand of acutely British humour, all brought to life by its talented main cast, which includes the likes of Alexa Davies (Detectorists), Will Merrick (Poldark), and Charlotte Ritchie (Fresh Meat).
We'll have to wait and see how far Dead Pixels is going to run with its already absurdist concept, but judging by the way in which one character is seen stacking up cows like Jenga blocks in the trailer, we're willing to bet this is one show that won't waste the unlimited comedic potential of the video game mileau.
Dead Pixels is coming soon to E4, but while you wait for its debut, why not check out all the other big new TV shows on the way this year?
