In the classic 70s arcade shoot ’em up Defender, players could jab a screen-clearing panic button when they felt overwhelmed. E4’s compulsive sitcom Dead Pixels uses linguistic fireworks to similar effect, as its characters – addicted to the overblown fantasy role-playing game Kingdom Scrolls – vent over voice chat. (Creator Jon Brown, a producer on HBO’s Succession, is no stranger to inventive swearing.)
Since 2019 the show has skilfully skewered gaming culture, from the rise of pricey loot boxes to the artform’s march into the mainstream: “Oh Drake, what the fuck have you done?” mutters lifelong gamer Meg (Alexa Davies), as the rapper’s endorsement of their favourite game triggers an influx of disrespectful young avatars.
It seems apt to talk to Davies and Will Merrick, who plays Meg’s BFF Nicky, over Zoom: their characters often communicate via headset despite living in the same Northampton flat (with exasperated non-gamer Alison, Ghosts star Charlotte Ritchie). “It’s weird seeing Will’s face,” says Davies. Merrick agrees: “This is more technical than the show – we’re usually listening to each other’s voices through a thin wall.”
The sarcasm-infused house share is a sturdy sitcom blueprint, but what gives Dead Pixels its surreal edge is its ability to zap viewers into the world of Kingdom Scrolls, a plausible Warcraft-type mega-game. Merrick sees it as “the cherry on top. You get to go into this brilliant-looking game, and the animation can be funny in itself,” he says. “We can be talking about something totally different, but you’re watching our avatars clubbing seal pups for tiny amounts of coins.”
The gang’s self-isolating habits predate the pandemic, but in the lockdown era it might be an emotional tonic: Meg and Nicky’s platonic but freighted relationship gives the show real heart. “They need each other,” says Davies. “Whatever one is doing, no matter how negative, the other will always back them up because they are as bad as each other. And that’s kind of lovely.”
Meg and Nicky are endurance-gaming veterans, clocking up epic sessions in well-worn chairs, aided by questionable snacks. Season two begins with the gang tackling an epic expansion quest. So if you were about to embark on your own 48-hour gaming marathon, how would you do it the #DeadPixels way?
Day zero
Pre-mission prep
Will Merrick When I was gaming more, I really hated being interrupted – I loved that feeling of being lost in it and didn’t want anything to break that immersion. So I think you really want to get everyone else out of the way for the 48 hours. Alexa is more of a gamer than me, so I would also immediately turn to her for advice.
Alexa Davies I would be so prepared ... but I would suggest veering more toward a healthier version of what Meg and Nicky do. Although I’m such a sleeper I can’t even really imagine keeping going for the full 48 hours.
Day one, midnight
The quest begins
AD If you start your session at midnight, you’d probably need a lot of coffee. I might also need a bottle of prosecco or two.
WM Yeah, I would probably need some booze ...
AD We could do cocktails!
WM Or mocktails?
AD That’s a good shout – a little bit of sugar.
Day one, 9am
Sunrise
WM Keep the curtains drawn. There’s nothing worse than seeing the sun. Then you start to get the fear, and you really don’t want that happening when you’re only nine hours in.
AD I’d actually say: let the sun in. You need to feel that on your skin to keep you awake, to keep the happy going. My boyfriend recently got a seasonal affective disorder light that imitates the sun to make your body think that you’re outside and get that serotonin going. So it would be a good thing to have a SAD lamp on hand, especially for Meg. Her bedroom doesn’t even have any windows.
Day one, 3pm
Comfort breaks
WM We know Meg has previously used a metal bucket to save time.
AD Yes, we know that she’s gone full metal bucket before. I feel gross even saying it, because it’s not something I would even contemplate. There is a chance she would set up some sort of second chair with a bucket underneath – maybe in the wardrobe, so she can still see the screen. She would be away from the keyboard but with her headset still on. And it would be painfully obvious to her team what she was doing.
Day two, 2am
Breaking the wall
AD In a 48-hour session, I think the middle 24 hours would be the problem. The first and the last 12, they’d be fine. The last leg, you just tell yourself you only have a little more time to play through and just get on with it.
WM Yeah, the wall is somewhere in the middle, isn’t it? Then it’s all downhill to the end. I can imagine Meg having prepared pep talks for if some doubts creep in, when people on the voice chat start saying things like: “Maybe we should just take five minutes off …” I feel like you could whip out a motivational speech.
AD Pre-recorded!
WM Nice, so you don’t even have to say it live.
Day two, 7pm
Time for dinner
AD Three days earlier, get on to Domino’s so they deliver to the flat on both days at the right times. Leave the door open so they have easy access.
WM I can imagine a delivery guy in the flat but Meg and Nicky still don’t come out of their bedrooms. Just slide it under the door, mate: sorted.
AD Maybe you could try a 48-hour fast – that would solve the food problem.
WM You could use those nutrient packets that runners have. Not much in them, but your body gets everything it needs.
AD It’s not like you’re really burning much energy anyway.
Day two, midnight
The finish line
AD Meg and Nicky would probably just carry on, wouldn’t they?
WM I would be happy to call it quits but they would plough on. Maybe they don’t even realise 48 hours has passed. Their flatmate Alison comes back three days later and they’re staggering round the kitchen trying to toast bread in the freezer.
AD Personally, I would have a little cry.
Dead Pixels season two starts 26 January, 10pm, E4; all episodes will then be available on All 4
