The TV show ‘Pakhathi Kwethu’ is better than it has any right to be

The only thing more surprising is Paramount+’s sudden release of Among Us The TV show is how I enjoyed it.

Look, it’s 2026. That means it’s been six years Among Us‘ high profile, with everyone from Twitch streamer Pokimane to US representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez locked in sniffing out who was really to blame. When CBS Studios announced it was developing the show Among Us by 2023, the game’s viral popularity was over. The move to TV seemed like a strange attempt to milk the latest IP.

However, there were bright spots in time Among Us‘ stage of development which revealed that it will not be a money grab. First was the announcement of its creator Owen Dennis, the brain behind the long-running (and soon-to-be-departed) Cartoon Network. An endless train. Then came the introduction of the voice actors, who had big names like Elijah Wood, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Randall Park. Even as the years of waiting between the program’s announcement and its eventual release dragged on, I wondered, did this news mean there was a chance Among Us the show can be really… good?

The answer, thankfully, turns out to be yes! Among Us it’s a delightfully funny adaptation of the game, filled with enough Easter eggs to satisfy even the most die-hard fans, and a surprising amount of intensity.

How do you do it Among Us fix a game on TV?

Among Us takes the basic premise of the game – space crew hunting an alien Impostor in their midst – and puts an end to it. Now, the monochromatic astronauts who inhabit them have clear personalities and roles within their team. Red (portrayed by Park) is The Skeldthe incompetent captain, Orange (voiced by Brown) is an overzealous HR lawyer, and Green (voiced by Wood) is an unpaid human resources intern.

Other associates (and suspects) include popo baby White (voiced by Patton Oswalt), hippy gemologist Cyan (voiced by Kimiko Glenn), no-nonsense geologist Black (voiced by Liv Hewson), sketchy security guard Purple (voiced by Ashley Johnson), conspirator Ashley Johnson, Lime (voiced by doctor Wayne Knight), Steven Blue The Skeldthe chefs – and only union members – are Brown (portrayed by Phil LaMarr) and Yellow (portrayed by Debra Wilson).

Among Us plays these archetypes in a funny way, jumping around as many laugh in each 15-minute episode. Misogyny abounds as well, with Dennis toying with the Crewmates’ appearances, from their big bones to their ever-present backpacks. (What happens if they undress? The show gives a suitably silly answer.)

Between the laughs, Among Us he insists that the villain of the show is not just the Cheater. (Or the Impostors.) And it is corporate greed, which is here in the form of MIRA, the mining company that runs this project. Carrying shades of the Alien Franchise’s villainous Weyland-Yutani, MIRA is presumptuous of workers because of the company’s loyalty to Orange, which Dennis contradicts with Yellow’s pro-labor screeds. Among Us it’s one of the last places I’d expect to see such strong anti-corporate messages, but it’s chalked up as one of the show’s many welcome surprises.

Among Us it gets delightfully weird.

Some of these other wonders come about Among Us prefers to engage with the visual language of the game. For example, when the Crewmates move from room to room on the ship, the show mimics the game’s camera style and the 2D movement of the characters, a choice that pleased me both. again he got me back into playing Among Us with my friends in 2020. Elsewhere, Dennis nods to everything from the game’s specific functions to its voting mechanics.

But others Among Us‘ The best moments have less to do with the game itself, and more to do with messing with it. Perhaps the best example is the Impostor alien itself. When he begins to reveal his true self, it releases the physical shock that takes over you Among Us‘ the classic eye stab kill animation is up. Like the rest of the show, it’s a weird, welcome surprise.

All 10 episodes of Among Us now streaming on Paramount+.