It’s no secret that we’re living in the era of streaming saturation and IP gold rushes to the point of fatigue.
Ironically, the most overlooked goldmine television has barely tapped into is what flows directly to our ears: fiction podcasts!
As one of a handful of things that carried me through the pandemic, I can attest to how audio dramas have been quietly and carefully crafting deeply cinematic, emotionally charged, and narratively daring stories for years.
Shockingly, only a few have leaped to television. Homecoming, Limetown, and Archive 81 are among the most notable.
But there are so many that still lie in wait for someone to pluck them up, negotiate accordingly, and bring them from our headphones to our small screens.
The best part is the diversity.
They span multiple genres, from post-apocalyptic drama, fantasy, supernatural, horror, thrillers, and dark comedies.
Here’s just a taste of some fiction podcasts (starring some of our favorite actors) that could, no, should be adapted to the small screen!
Passenger List
Who doesn’t like conspiracy thrillers?
This podcast stars Kelly Marie Tran, a young college student who is determined to figure out what happened to her twin brother, who goes missing on Flight 702.
What happened? Well, the plane goes missing mid-air, and no one has any answers for Kaitlin Li.
It’s a twisty ride filled with cliffhangers and a complex narrative that will have you clicking “Next” after each episode. And isn’t that exactly the type of thing that’s begging to be a streaming hit?
Think Manifest with a dash of The OA and Yellowjackets, and tell me that isn’t something that you’d binge the heck out of!
Alice Isn’t Dead
This twisty tale has the supernatural and horror-lite edge that will keep you up at night, but only because you’d want to finish it.
Performed by Jasika Nicole, it’s about a truck driver, Keisha, who drives around the country searching for her presumed dead wife.
In the interim, she encounters strange phenomena and supernatural conspiracies. It’s taut, tense, and positively thrilling.
The podcast is atmospheric, poetic in its world-building and execution, and has a vibe of Killing Eve meets Twin Peaks.
Carrier
Speaking of truck drivers, Carrier stars Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo as Raylene Watts.
It’s about a woman who works for her family’s truck driving business. When her father is hospitalized, she takes on his latest job, which requires her to ride across the country with mysterious cargo.
Sounds simple enough, right? It most certainly isn’t!
With sci-fi and horror elements, Carrier is a claustrophobic mystery that fills you with dread in the best possible way, and it practically screams limited series on Netflix or Apple TV+.
Blood Ties
Let’s face it, we cannot get enough of toxic families, especially the wealthy ones.
And that’s why Blood Ties could fill the Succession void if it became a TV adaptation.
Gillian Jacobs and Josh Gad star as siblings Eleanor and Michael, who set out to learn the truth about how their parents (owners of a biotech empire) died in a mysterious plane crash.
Only their parents, particularly their father, are not the people they thought they were, and they grapple with protecting the family legacy or cleaning up the family business.
Aftershock
Honestly, Aftershock needs to become a limited series for the sole purpose of having a stacked cast for this podcast drama.
Sarah Wayne Callies, Jefferey Dean Morgan, David Harbour, Tati Gabrielle, Russel Hornsby, Bethany Joy Lenz, David Morrissey, and that’s not even everyone.
It’s about a massive earthquake that decimates the West Coast, causing a mysterious island to appear, and it’s an absolutely thrilling exploration of these survivors as they navigate the collapse of society.
This survival story explores race, class, and rebuilding society, drawing parallels to Station Eleven and Lost.
Borrasca
Borrasca is absolutely one of my favorites on this list. It’s a psychological thriller that stars Cole Sprouse as the deeply troubled Sam Walker.
Many people can relate to trying to escape their hometown, but when it comes to Drisking, Missouri, there are many ways a person can leave, and some of them are downright eerie.
A fascinating exploration of grief, trauma, and so much more, Sam Walker reluctantly falls into investigating the mystery surrounding his sister Whitney’s disappearance and how it connects to many strange disappearances of others in the idyllic town of Drisking, which is anything but idyllic.
It’s dark, gripping, and features an impressive amount of folklore for a creepy small town where danger, secrets, and unspeakable acts simmer beneath the surface and beyond the façade.
Drisking makes Riverdale look like a Utopia!
Blackout
Gritty and timely, Blackout is an absolute delight.
This one features Mr. Robot‘s Rami Malek and How to Get Away with Murder‘s Aja Naomi in a political conspiracy thriller that meets a survivalist tale.
Simon Itani is a radio DJ who becomes the truth teller and voice of the people when a nationwide blackout wipes out the power grid, leaving many questions unanswered.
He goes to great lengths to protect his family amid rising unrest, with the help of family friend Wren, as well as attempts to uncover the truth behind this mystery, or rather, conspiracy.
Blackout is RIPE for a television adaptation. It couldn’t come at a better time, and it would certainly scratch the itch of Mr. Robot fans who are desperate to see Malek return to the small screen again.
Listening In
Remember when Lifetime used to have some stellar series? Fun fact, the acclaimed YOU debuted there first. Ha!
Well, Listening In is the type of women-led mystery that feels reminiscent of the best dramas that Lifetime had to offer. It stars Rachel Brosnahan and The Resident‘s Manish Dayal.
Julia is a recent NYC transplant, mostly stuck in the house while her husband works at a company that appears shadier by the second.
Her speakers in her house start picking up on some disturbing and mysterious conversations between her neighbors. As she gets sucked into the drama happening over there, she unlocks a bigger mystery that could be life-threatening.
It’s not long before she no longer knows who she can trust, including those closest to her.
Do you see why I think this would be the perfect Lifetime drama series?
Dirty Diana
Sex sells. Additionally, this one features Demi Moore, who is an icon.
But back to the sex part. One of the things that’s gratifying for all forms of media to explore is that middle-aged women can still be fully functioning, complex, and, yes, sexy beings.
At home, Diana is trying to maintain a strained marriage to a husband who doesn’t seem all that interested in her. And at work, Diana has her fair share of issues she has to navigate.
But it’s her secret other life at night that has her running an erotic website that spotlights women’s sexual fantasies, where Diana’s life and the woman herself truly come alive.
But if her worlds collide, there can be issues.
It’s like Sex/Life meets The Girlfriend Experience, except, you know, actually good!
Hit Job
I love a great dark comedy, and this one is pure fun.
Keke Palmer and Pete Davidson join forces for this hellish job dark comedy/romance that will have you thoroughly amused and entertained.
Brynn is an artist who takes a job as a temp worker at a company that’s essentially a mercenary business. She has to help support her sick grandmother after all.
Except, a company-wide contest that offers more money than she dreams of and a livelihood in front of her has Brynn joining forces with the company’s tech nerd, Geo, to take home the grand prize.
Of course, they have to get their hands dirty. If you put Severance, The Office, and Barry into a blender, it would spit out this gem, and dammit, we need this on screen immediately!
Bridgewater
Remember when we used to have great paranormal mystery series like The X-Files and Fringe?
Bridgewater, featuring Mischa Collins and Nathan Fillion (yes, a double dose of fan-favorite actors), would deliver that energy tenfold if only someone turned it into a series!
Jeremy Bradshaw, a folklore professor, takes it upon himself to investigate the 30-year-old disappearance of his father, who was a law enforcement officer in the Bridgewater Triangle.
He joins forces with his father’s retired partner, Anne Becker (Teen Wolf‘s Melissa Ponzio), and they discover things that challenge what the average person should believe!
Genre, baby! Cults. Supernatural creepiness! Someone needs to get on this!
Case 63
First of all, this Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac podcast is absolutely riveting. Yours truly even reviewed the first season.
We don’t have enough time traveler series, and this one is so fascinating that you won’t drain your battery trying to finish it all.
World-renowned psychologist Eliza Knight thinks it’ll be a normal day studying and treating patient 63, Peter Roiter, until she slowly realizes that there may be actual truth to the “mentally unwell” patient who claims he’s a time traveler from 2062.
And let’s say the world isn’t looking so hot by then (although, are we surprised? Look at where we are now!).
Case 63 has so many twists and turns that it would have anyone on the edge of their seats, and it’s the exact type of buzzworthy series that would have people speculating and theorizing on social media. Think Paradise!
It, too, is poised for adaptation on Amazon, and we can hardly wait for this one to come to fruition!
The Royals of Malibu
Again, there’s not enough teen drama out there anymore, and with shows like The Summer I Turned Pretty signing off, we could use more options.
Enter, The Royals of Malibu. Wealth, secrets, a prep school scandal, Twitter, and TikTok would devour this series!
It’s based on a book series (Fallen Heir) that has a built-in fanbase, and it’s actually juicy and addictive.
Ella Sinclair is living the rags-to-riches lifestyle when she goes from fending for herself on the streets to living with her late father’s wealthy old friend, who plucks her out of her hard life and moves her into his mansion with his four hot sons.
Reed Royal, in particular, is the one who gives her the hardest of times and seems to be hiding the most secrets. And when it comes to the Royal household and that damn prep school, there are many secrets.
It’s a dash of We Were Liars, Gossip Girl, and Outer Banks, and frankly, we need our next teen hit!
The future of television may just be hiding in our headphones!
Audio fiction podcasts have riveting, complex, and wonderfully woven tales, diverse genres and content, and A-list stars behind them.
They also have millions of loyal and devoted listeners and fans who would be more than thrilled to see their favorite podcasts adapted for the small screen.
In a market often searching for original content and creativity, fictional podcasts are ripe for the taking.
Some of these are apparently in development or some form of negotiation, so fortunately, we may actually see some of these come to life after all!
If you read this whole thing — we’re grateful. Presumably, you may enjoy fiction podcasts, too. What are some you’d love to see make it to the small screen?
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