Among Us Animated Pilot Shows a Capitalist Nightmare

I was skeptical on hearing there would be an Among Us show based on the game; even more so when the pilot dropped on June 13. How do you make an animated show featuring two people backstabbing an entire team by murdering them and turning the survivors against each other?

Point out that it's basically capitalist America.

In hindsight, handing the production reins to Owen Dennis of Infinity Train fame makes perfect sense. Dennis crafted a brilliant narrative about a train that forces you to face your flaws, losing time and possibly your life in the process. It makes sense that his team would understand how to translate an impossible concept into a "murder mystery". The production crew also has no chill, considering they show a corporation that treats employees as expendable resources and forces everyone to obey orders regardless of common sense.

It surely has nothing to do with the parent company, Paramount+, catering to a certain fascist's whims and enshittifying its nonfiction media. Nor may it be related that another CEO tried erasing Infinity Train from existence, and the company tried reassuring Dennis that the cancellation wasn't for tax loopholes.

Dennis and the production crew knew the assignment: develop characters, kill them, and tell a story. Boy, did they go for the extra credit.

Could You Kill Your Friends?

A few years ago, I refused to hurt a group of people I called friends when playing Among Us as the Impostor. It felt so wrong, especially with COVID and certain governments killing people, encouraging us to turn in the vulnerable or snap their necks. Getting killed by my friends made me scream; I didn't find the experience fun at all.

It's 2026. I'm no longer friends with most of the people in that group. So, if there were a round two? I wouldn't hold back this time. Screw 'em.

What Is Different About the Show?

Capitalism encourages us not to be loyal to friends, coworkers, or companies. More the opposite; leaders and managers with no regulation cut corners for the sake of profit. People will toss others under the boss and not explain the changing rules. Any friends you make go "Poof!" when one of you leaves. Heck, some individuals try getting unions to vote for their self-destruction.

In the games, any camaraderie resets with each round. A person you trust may snap your neck in an instant. But in the show, the real crewmates have an odd camaraderie, with some promising to help with fair payment and others working 24/7 to keep everyone alive. Still, they're doomed by the end.

The game version of Among Us tells us to trust no one, not even our closest friends. But Among Us, the pilot, tells us to distrust the system.

Becoming a Pilot

Green and White are the newest recruits to the Skeld, a transport shuttle. While White is the epitome of privilege – surprise, surprise– Green is an unpaid intern who dreams of becoming a shuttle pilot. They meet the crew with little chaos: Orange, the HR rep; Cyan and Black, in gemology and geology, respectively; Lime, the engineer; Blue, the "hot doctor"; Yellow and Brown, the socialist chefs; and Red, the captain. Purple, the security guard, however, is missing. They skulk around the ship before confronting management for being "irresponsible".

An impostor also lurks, murdering the crew one by one. Thanks to Red, they won't reach safe harbor in Industria for a week, with comms damaged as reported by Orange, so they're on their own. But who would do this? And why?

No Chill from the Writers

The HR Orange lady made me groan in recognition. They are the epitome of all those misspelled and outdated HR manuals that lull you into a false sense of security when you're given the chance to proofread them for work, and then they don't apply any of the edits. Orange's desire to ignore Yellow and Brown as they inform Green the intern that they deserve proper pay made me laugh and shudder at the same time. Yellow and Brown earned my love for radicalizing the underdogs.

Purple is a mood, as the head of security, working within a faulty system. As they point out, this is a very unsafe ship, with a captain who is a complete idiot. Red's decision to let White drive, something that Purple warned Red not to do, causes an asteroid collision, and Purple is brusque with the captain. The two have a tense history. It all reflects many of the same tensions found throughout workplaces everywhere.

Time to Make a Report

If you're going to adapt Among Us, you need one heck of a story that the original game can't have by design. The story the show presents pays homage not just to the original incarnation but also to the murder mystery genre.

I don't know if I'll continue the series or wait for season one to come out on DVD. What I do know, though, is I'm applauding the production crew for taking a silly premise and keeping us glued to the TV.