Sam Riegel of Critical Role kicks off a 24-hour live charity stream tonight, Wednesday 22 April 2026, at 7pm Pacific (3am UK on Thursday morning). Shirts Off Sam's Back is a partnership between the Critical Role Foundation and eBay Live, broadcasting across eBay Live, Twitch and YouTube. It ends Thursday at 7pm Pacific (3am Friday UK time) with a Darrington Brigade Returns one-shot in which Riegel takes the GM's chair himself.
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Start organising for freeRiegel, who voices Scanlan in The Legend of Vox Machina and Nott in The Mighty Nein and has spent years writing the increasingly silly cold-open shirt jokes that bookend Critical Role episodes, was diagnosed with tonsil cancer in July 2024 and has spoken openly about treatment and recovery since. The fundraiser leans into one of his trademark bits: fans can bid on items from Riegel's personal collection, including some of the printed shirts that have become a Critical Role institution. Donations support the HNC Living Foundation, which helps people with head and neck cancer, and the Pablove Foundation, which funds childhood cancer research and arts programmes.
The schedule is a proper grab bag. Expect game shows, an All Work No Play special episode, guest appearances and the kind of half-asleep nonsense that 24-hour streams are made of. The Darrington Brigade Returns one-shot closes the marathon, with Sam joined by the rest of the founding Critical Role cast for what is reportedly his first time in the GM's chair for the group.
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See how it worksEven if you cannot stay up for the small hours, the eBay Live auctions only run during the broadcast, so it is worth setting an alarm if there's a Sam shirt you've had your eye on. The Critical Role Foundation has been a consistent home for the cast's charity work since 2020, and this stream is the biggest single push of the year.
Sources: Critical Role | Beacon.tv Schedule
