We have something different to share with you, TV Fanatics!
Audible launches its new original audio series, The Big Lie, today (Thursday, June 16), and it has a star-studded cast.
The Big Lie marks John Mankiewicz’s first podcast, and the cast is out of this world.
The Big Lie is described as an immersive, cinematic seven-part audio drama series about the making of Salt of the Earth — the only movie named to the “Hollywood Blacklist” — and the FBI agent – played by Jon Hamm – who tried to shut it down.
Sounds intriguing, right?
The project was created by Executive Producer John Mankiewicz (House of Cards; Bosch; House, M.D.), from a story by Salt producer Paul Jarrico, co-written by Jamie Napoli, directed by Aaron Lipstadt (Bosch, Elementary, Medium).
The Big Lie also stars Kate Mara, Ana de la Reguera, John Slattery, Bradley Whitford, Lisa Edelstein, Giancarlo Esposito, David Strathairn, and more/
Jon Hamm will also Executive Produce the series.
Audible shared an exclusive clip with Hamm and his former Mad Men co-star, John Slattery, which you can read at the bottom of this post.
“When John and Aaron came to me with the idea for The Big Lie, it was an automatic yes,” Hamm said of the project.
“Exploring the consequences of what happens when governments try to quiet the voices of the people – especially working people – is a theme that resonates with me deeply in 2022, so getting to both act in and Executive Produce this series was very rewarding,” he added.
“And getting to tell this story over audio, in a format that mirrors the way audiences might have actually heard it over the radio in the 1950s, made it all the more authentic.”
The series was a passion project for Mankiewicz.
Mankiewicz said in a statement, “Because this was such an important story of a dark, complicated time in a divided America, I’ve always felt I owed it to Paul Jarrico and all the victims of the “Hollywood Blacklist” to get it told in the best possible way.”
Audio was the perfect medium to bring The Big Lie to life, and Fresh Produce Media and Audible were the perfect team.”
The series truly shows what can be accomplished on the medium, and it should be a new standard for what comes next.
Check out an exclusive sneak peek below.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
