{"id":410538,"date":"2026-04-21T19:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T19:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/410538\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T19:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T19:53:10","slug":"dan-houser-new-absurdaverse-tv-show-game-franchise-sets-cast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/410538\/","title":{"rendered":"Dan Houser New ‘Absurdaverse’ TV Show-Game Franchise Sets Cast"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tRockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser<\/a> has unveiled the first round of voice castings for his upcoming TV and video game franchise, \u201cAbsurdaverse,\u201d ahead of formally revealing a first look at the project next month at the Netflix Is A Joke Festival.<\/p>\n

\n\tDescribed as an \u201cinterconnected comedy satire universe with an untitled animated series and an untitled original AAA story-driven open world video game project currently in development,\u201d the \u201cAbsurdaverse\u201d will star Rachel Dratch, Dan Soder, Ari Matti, Annie Lederman, Yamaneika Saunders and Steph Tolev across several projects.<\/p>\n

\n\tAdditional actors (the \u201cAbsurdaverse\u201d is expected to boast a \u201ccast of hundreds\u201d for the animated series and video game projects) will be announced at a later date. This initial lineup of comedy vets and standup stars are some of those who will be featured in the \u201cAbsurdaverse\u201d animated shorts that will be screened at an exclusive live comedy event as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival in Los Angeles on May 7 at The Hollywood Improv.<\/p>\n

\n\tPer the description from Houser\u2019s media company, Absurd Ventures<\/a>, \u201cIn these original shorts, eventgoers will be introduced to an ensemble of eclectic and unhinged characters, including a Chief People Officer who treats his job like a DJ residency (voiced by Dan Soder), a chain-smoking sovereign citizen podcaster (voiced by Rachel Dratch), an insane MMA fighter (voiced by up-and-coming comedian, Samantha Alton), and more. The event will feature live standup from Patton Oswalt and Absurdaverse cast members Dan Soder, Ari Matti, Yamaneika Saunders, Steph Tolev, and host\u202fAnnie Lederman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAbsurd Ventures expects to reveal release windows and platform partners for both the untitled animated series and AAA open-world action-adventure game at a later date.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tDan Houser, Jeffrey \u201cLazlow\u201d Jones\/Courtesy of Absurd Ventures<\/p>\n

\n\tCreated by Houser and his longtime writing partner Jeffrey \u201cLazlow\u201d Jones, the \u201cAsburdverse\u201d project was first announced last year as a key focus for Houser\u2019s Absurd Ventures media company, which he launched after leaving Rockstar Games in 2020.<\/p>\n

\n\tHouser and Jones worked closely together at Rockstar on projects across the \u201cGrand Theft Auto\u201d and \u201cRed Dead Redemption\u201d franchises. Some of Houser\u2019s most beloved work within the \u201cGTA\u201d world are the fan-favorite satirical animated TV shows and cartoons featured within the games\u2019 universe, including \u201cPrincess Robot Bubblegum,\u201d \u201cKung Fu Rainbow Laser Force,\u201d \u201cRepublican Space Rangers,\u201d and\u202f\u201dThe Loneliest Robot in Great Britain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe \u201cAbsurdaverse\u201d animated shorts are produced by Dave Newberg (\u201c#1 Happy Family USA\u201d), with character designs by Kendra Melton (\u201cRick & Morty,\u201d \u201cThe Venture Bros\u201d) and animation via Cutting Class Media.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSince our earliest days working together, Dan and I have approached storytelling with an emphasis on comedy, satire and creating immersive media universes \u2013 whether through in-world radio, animated TV shows, comedy clubs you could visit, and more,\u201d Lazlow said. \u201cWe always loved making those animated shows starting with GTA4 and expanding through all the games that followed. The Absurdaverse is our evolution of that tradition, partnering with comedians to bring these ridiculous characters to life with stories that will cross over between animation and open world games.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFor many years, Lazlow and I have collaborated to give form to all sorts of characters that have inhabited our worlds,\u201d Houser added. \u201cI look forward to introducing some of our newest group of maniacs from our next universe in this first set of animated shorts. We are proud to partner with the Netflix Is A Joke Festival to present this first look.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser has unveiled the first round of voice castings for his upcoming TV and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[180379,180380,180381,93,61,60,282],"class_list":{"0":"post-410538","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-absurd-ventures","9":"tag-absurdverse","10":"tag-dan-houser","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}