You probably know Anthony Burch as the guy who made you laugh—or maybe roll your eyes—at the dialogue in Borderlands 2. Or maybe you're a "Daddy" who listens to his chaos-energy Dungeon Mastering on the podcast Dungeons and Daddies. But when you look at Anthony Burch movies and tv shows, the list is actually a lot more diverse than just "the meme guy from Gearbox."
Honestly, his career path is a bit of a fever dream. It starts with shooting low-budget sketches with his sister, Ashly, and somehow ends up with him writing for the God of War team at Sony Santa Monica. He’s lived in that weird intersection of "internet famous" and "industry professional" for over a decade. It’s a space where you can be a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree one day and get roasted on Reddit for a decade-old joke about butt-stallions the next.
The Web Series Roots: Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?
Before there were big-budget productions, there was just a camera and a lot of sibling rivalry. Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'? (HAWP) is basically the foundation of everything Burch has done in TV and film.
It started on Destructoid and eventually moved to GameTrailers, back when those were the places to be for gaming culture. The premise was simple: Anthony plays the "straight man" trying to talk about video games, and Ashly plays a surreal, often violent version of herself who disrupts the conversation.
It’s short-form comedy, but it’s where Anthony sharpened his voice. He wasn't just writing jokes; he was figuring out how to subvert expectations in under three minutes. This series is why people like Mikey Neumann at Gearbox took notice. They weren't looking for a "Capital-W Writer" for Borderlands; they wanted someone who understood the absurdity of gaming.
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Breaking Into "Real" TV: RocketJump and Hulu
A lot of people miss the fact that Anthony Burch was a massive part of the RocketJump era. When Freddie Wong and Matt Arnold were making RocketJump: The Show for Hulu, Anthony was the lead writer.
This wasn't just a YouTube collab. It was a legit 8-episode series that followed the creation of high-budget short films. Anthony wrote for several of these shorts, including the standout Anime Crimes Division.
Anime Crimes Division: The Cult Favorite
If you haven't seen it, Anime Crimes Division is probably the best example of Burch's "traditional" TV writing. Starring SungWon Cho (ProZD), it’s a procedural cop drama set in a city where anime-related crimes are real.
- Tone: High-stakes noir mixed with "we’re taking this way too seriously" absurdity.
- The Hook: It treats things like "waifu wars" as literal gang violence.
- The Burch Touch: It’s full of that specific, self-aware dialogue that makes fun of a subculture while clearly being written by someone who is in that subculture.
Anthony Burch's Work in Film and Shorts
Let's be clear: Anthony isn't exactly a Hollywood blockbuster screenwriter in the traditional sense. You won't find his name on the latest Marvel credits. However, his work in shorts and digital films has a massive reach.
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One of his most notable credits is the script for Expiration Date, the 15-minute Team Fortress 2 short produced by Valve. If you’ve ever quoted the line "I have done nothing but teleport bread for three days," you’re quoting Anthony’s work. It’s widely considered the gold standard for how to write characters for an established game world without making them feel like cardboard cutouts.
He also contributed to Tales from the Borderlands, which, while technically a game, is structured and paced exactly like a TV miniseries. Critics and fans often argue this is his best work because it balances the wacky humor with genuine, heart-wrenching character growth. It proved he could handle the "pre-authored, player-oppressing scripted stories" he used to claim he hated during his days as a critic.
The Sony Santa Monica Pivot
In a move that surprised a lot of the "Anthony Burch only writes memes" crowd, he was hired by Sony Santa Monica in 2019. This is the studio behind God of War.
Think about that for a second. Going from Hey Ash to working on the narrative team for Kratos is a massive jump. It shows a level of range that his early detractors often ignored. While his specific contributions to the newer God of War titles are part of a massive collaborative team, his presence there signaled a shift toward more dramatic, character-driven storytelling.
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Why His Credits Matter in 2026
The landscape of entertainment has changed. The line between a "TV show" and a "web series" or a "narrative podcast" has basically vanished. Anthony Burch is a prime example of the "New Hollywood" writer.
He doesn't just write scripts; he builds worlds that people want to live in for 100+ hours. Whether it’s his work on the League of Legends worldbuilding team or his comic book runs (like Big Trouble in Little China: Old Man Jack, co-written with John Carpenter himself), Burch is everywhere.
Key Projects You Should Know:
- Borderlands 2 & The Pre-Sequel: The projects that defined his public image.
- RocketJump: The Show (Hulu): His first major foray into streaming TV.
- Anime Crimes Division: A brilliant parody that holds up as a standalone series.
- Dungeons and Daddies: While a podcast, its "Season" structure and narrative depth function like an improv-heavy TV show.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that Anthony Burch is just a "meme writer." If you actually sit down and watch Anime Crimes Division or play through the Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep DLC, you see a writer who is obsessed with consequence.
He likes to take funny, shallow archetypes and force them to deal with real grief. In Borderlands 2, it was the death of Roland. In Dungeons and Daddies, it’s the trauma of being a father. He uses humor as a trojan horse for emotional stakes.
Actionable Steps for Exploring His Work
If you want to see the evolution of his style, don't just stick to the games. Follow this specific path:
- Watch the "Expiration Date" short on YouTube. It’s the perfect 15-minute masterclass in his character writing.
- Binge Anime Crimes Division. It’s on the RocketJump YouTube channel and is the closest thing to a "traditional" show he has created.
- Listen to the first few episodes of Dungeons and Daddies. Even if you don't like D&D, the narrative pacing is a great look at how he structures "TV-style" beats on the fly.
- Check out his comics. Specifically the Rocko's Modern Afterlife run. It’s weird, dark, and perfectly captures his ability to reboot a childhood property with a modern (and slightly depressing) twist.
The reality is that Anthony Burch's filmography isn't about one big hit; it's about a decade of being the loudest, weirdest voice in the room across every medium possible. Whether you love his style or it drives you crazy, you can't deny that he's reshaped how stories are told in the digital age.