Dear podcasts, you’re ready for prime time

March 28, 2018 7:45 am

In 2012, Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor were busy creating a new type of podcast, an audio drama in an already-niche podcast market. This was before the podcast behemoth Serial, before the general public even knew what a podcast was. According to Edison Research, less than half the US population was even aware of the term “podcasting.” What Fink and Cranor created though, would change the the direction of their lives. Welcome to Night Vale, an audio drama podcast masquerading as a radio program, premiered on June 15, 2012. Today, Fink and Cranor are busy as the executive producers of the TV show adaptation on FX.

In 2015, a writer took his passion and decided to create a short story podcast, each episode depicting another tall tale or conspiracy. Amazon premiered Lore in October 2017.

Tonight, ABC will premiere Alex Inc. — a sitcom starring Zach Braff based on the first season of the podcast StartUp. Which as it happens, is a real podcast account of Gimlet Media founder Alex Blumberg creating the now podcast empire.

Podcasts, like all relatively new mediums, have become a haven for creative folks to flex their muscles. Because of the low barrier of entry, podcasts are alluring because there are no restrictions, you can tell your story however you’d like. As documentarian and podcaster, Andrew Jenks recently told me, “If it’s three hours or ten minutes, tell me the best fucking story you can. In that sense it’s the most raw form of storytelling and it’s awesome.” Because of this onslaught of creativity (gasp), some amazing stories have been told that larger studios and networks want to get their hands on. In this age of #content, podcasts are pumping original IP out available to be bid on.

An unconfirmed story I once heard tells of the days after Disney acquired Marvel, a team scoured through every comic book, noting every original character. These characters were now Disney’s property, original stories that Disney could option into any number of projects at any given time. Whether this actually happened exactly as I was told or not is irrelevant. Disney didn’t buy a comic book company, they bought the future those stories would tell. Several movies, TV shows, and billions of dollars later, the Marvel Cinematic Universe looks like one of the best purchases in recent history.

Podcasts are the next wild wild west, where the big fish are gobbling up the little fish to turn a profit. Movies, TV shows, books, and more are just some examples of podcast adaptations already in the works.

This isn’t just a one-off trend either. At least one company, the aforementioned Gimlet Media, has a dedicated full-time employee focused on these greater-than-podcasts adaptations. Meet Chris Giliberti, Head of Gimlet Pictures (a thing). Giliberti joked on The Wolf Den podcast — a meta podcast about the podcasting industry — that “he’s the steward of Gimlet’s audio library and think with a view into how our stories could live in another format.” In short, his job is identify which podcasts or podcast episodes are ready for primetime. He’s very good at his job. In addition to Alex Inc., Gimlet also has agreed upon projects for a film version of a Reply All episode, an Amazon series based on Homecoming, and I’m sure several other yet-to-be-announced deals.

Asked about his recent success, Giliberti told Variety, “We really have just this incredible trove of super high quality stories.” He continued, “With audio storytelling there’s just an incredibly high bar for the maintenance of attention. You don’t have something for folks to look at.”

Not only are the stories told through podcasts a potential goldmine for would-be buyers, but these larger organizations can also find new talent. These podcasters are providing free focus group and beta-tested talent hotbeds. Looking for a new comedian, storyteller, actor, or journalist? Check out their podcast resume and gauge their fanbase. Akin to how YouTube opened the talent floodgates for Saturday Night Live — no longer only relying on the local improv groups — networks can find talented people they’d like to work with and give them the resources. Netflix has been doing this for years, “here’s a bunch of money, go make something dope.” HBO recently premiered essentially this same plan with 2 Dope Queen creators, Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson. In lieu for their talent and unique voice, HBO gave them a four-special deal. They continued this trend with a deal with Crooked Media.

What we’ve seen now is only the first wave of many. Netflix, you had a breakout hit with Making a Murderer and missed out on Dirty John (two current adaptation deals), can I introduce you to Atlanta Monster? Nameless movie studio, check out the Reply All episode Long Distance. Hulu, here’s a nudge nudge to listen to the first season of Ear Hustle. HBO, Heaven’s Gate by Stitcher would be a compelling miniseries.

With more advertising money, creative podcasters will continue to produce amazing stories, and as the “peak TV” model continues it’s insatiable desire for more #content, this trend will only continue as podcasts further entrench their way into the mainstream culture.