Peacock has cast audiobook narrator Jeff Hays as Princess Donut in its forthcoming live-action adaptation of Dungeon Crawler Carl, announced during a San Diego Comic-Con panel with author Matt Dinniman. The choice matters because Hays’s performances helped make the audiobooks popular, and Dinniman said the production partners understood the series’ unusual tone and were especially protective of the fan-favourite talking cat.

The sci-fi litRPG series follows survivors forced into a deadly alien game show after Earth’s destruction, including former Coast Guard veteran Carl and his girlfriend’s cat. First published in 2020, its eight books have sold more than 14 million copies; a ninth, The Beautiful Place, is being written. Peacock ordered the series with Seth MacFarlane’s Fuzzy Door producing and Chris Yost writing, after competing studios also expressed interest.