Article author:
Associated Press
Lynn Elber
Los Angeles (AP) — I recently listened to a good TV show.
If you're crazy about a podcast drama with a script, you may be listening to the possibilities of a television series. This is a result of the demand for Hollywood small screen materials and the recognition that podcasts that go beyond nonfiction are valuable resources.
Fact-based podcasts such as Wondery's "WeCrashed", WeWork's business blunder, and Dateline NBC's crime story "The Thing About Pam" are top-ranked by Jared Leto and Renée Zellweger. It has become a staple of actors' television.
But there is a new wave of fiction podcasts. Some of them were created with the clear intention of determining the value of a Second Life story from a prominent newcomer to the world of audio. They use podcasts as a more cost-effective and more compelling way to test the concept of the series than filming a TV pilot.
Mark Stern, a former studio chief and head of original content for the Syfy channel, said that "a very traditional legacy media company" considers fiction podcasts to be mining content. Stated for a year. Stern himself shifted the gear. He is the president of Echoverse, a podcast studio launched in 2020 with a focus on science fiction, fantasy and supernatural stories.
"We started this business as an opportunity to absolutely create best-in-class audio dramas, but with a very high view of making them function as proof-of-concept IP (intellectual property). I had it in. I'm launching a TV, a movie, and a graphic novel, "Stern said.
This reflects Wolf Entertainment's approach to network franchises, including "Chicago," "FBI," and a permanent "law&directive." The company, led by Dick Wolf, produces podcasts such as "Hunt" starring Parker Posey and Brandon Scott, and "Dark Woods" starring Corey Stoll and Monica Raymund.
A well-made podcast is a valuable alternative for studio executives, who are flooded with suggestions for a series that often consists of a one-page description, as an executive producer at Dark Woods. One Elliott Wolf said:
"You really have the ability to immerse yourself in an audio series that draws much better than you can do with written words," Wolf said. He joined his father's company, then Wolf Productions, about three years ago and is part of a branding change that includes storytelling in new media.
Stern elaborated on the economic benefits of measuring the feasibility of a series based on podcasts rather than pilots. "Let's say the really good season for scripted podcasts is $ 500,000. Get an hour of TV for $ 5 million and do your best," he said.
Podcast production and technology pioneer Andy Bowers says Hollywood must catch up.
"I advertised this to several production companies and studios five years ago." This is a great way to test the concept. Lighting and location. You don't even need an expensive set, "says Bowers.
Their reaction. "Yes, maybe later," he recalled. The anthology of journalism, such as the podcast "Serial," was a hot topic, but Bowers said the hit 1950s television sitcom "I Love Lucy" was inspired by radio shows.
Fiction is nothing new to a podcasting party. "Welcome to Night Vale" is a cult hit that is the basis of books, albums and live shows in the United States and internationally, and is celebrating its 10th year.
However, it was necessary to join the event in order to raise the profile of podcasting and change its attitude. A surge in streaming services with greedy needs for programs such as Apple TV + and Peacock, and a pandemic of COVID-19.
Mimi Donnel hired as head of script programming for Spotify-owned podcast company Gimlet Media after the splash of a'homecoming'drama that movie star Julia Roberts outperformed Prime Video in 2018. it was done. But Hollywood continued to resist the value of fiction podcasts for television, O'Donnell said.
Then, Pandemic's idle screenmaking and "phone onslaught" went her way, O'Donnell said. Change is destined to happen, the pace is unabated, and some producers are even trying to bully what's in the pipeline's prerelease, like a studio jumping into a book before publication.
Talk and news-based non-fiction podcasts continue to be popular with viewers, but fiction is gaining momentum. Spotify's "Batman Unburied" drama topped the company's podcast charts in May, replacing Joe Rogan's podcast with a regular perch.
Podcasts and their screen incarnations will be different, said O'Donnell, the director of the troupe coming to Gimlet. She cites an example of "The Horror of Dolores Roach", written by Aaron Mark and born as a female play by O'Donnell for the stage.
She worked with the playwright to adapt the play to one of the first Gimlet podcasts and prove the winner. Mark wrote a pilot episode, acting as a co-showrunner, and snapped by Amazon Studios for the adaptation of the series.
"For me, it's a dream scenario of how the story evolves in different media and the same creator goes along with it ... and which story is. Understand how you can live, "said O'Donnell.
Joseph Fink, who co-produced "Welcome to Night Vale" with Jeffrey Cranor, reiterated that view. "The important thing is how the podcast feels. What attracts people to it, and can we build it from scratch in this new way? Everyone faces this. I'll have to do it, "he said.
Fink and Cranor have so far resisted the adaptation of the project to television, despite the strong interest of the industry.
"Similar to what happened in books and plays, people realize that podcasts are just as valuable and rich for storytelling," Fink said. But he added, "when we do a'night veil'show, it's important that it's done in a way that we're proud of and can still feel ours." ..