Audio dramas have been described as television for your ears.
If you’ve never heard of audio dramas before, you may have heard the term audio fiction, fiction podcast, radio play, or full-cast audio drama. They have a full cast of voice actors, sound effects, and a score. So, yeah, like television for your ears.
If this still sounds like a foreign concept, remember the original Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” that had everybody in an uproar? That was an audio drama. Remember how Ralphie in A Christmas Story listened to Little Orphan Annie on the family radio? That was an audio drama, too.
But before you start thinking audio dramas hum only from wooden, old-timey radios, a resurgence of the form has made the last few years a sort of golden era for them. Why? Some have speculated that audio dramas were easier to produce when everyone was home during Covid. The pandemic shut down much of the entertainment world, so really good writers, producers, and actors turned to audio dramas to keep themselves busy (or keep themselves afloat).
But whatever happened, audio dramas are back and seem back to stay. Market research firm Digital Bulletin valued the U.S. audio drama market at $2.7 billion last year and projected growth to $6.1 billion in 2033.
All of this is to say: There has never been a better time to listen to audio dramas. I’ve been a fan for years and I listen to shows when I work out, work in the yard, cook, walk, or whatever. If I can put my brain on pause for a minute, I can stick a show in there and be whisked away while my body cuts the grass.
To get started, find the fiction section of your favorite podcast app. It’s just called “fiction” in Apple Podcasts. Then scroll until you find something you like. Or hit up the audio drama subreddit for recommendations.
Big warning here, though: The quality of shows varies greatly. In some, the acting will suck (like, really suck). In others, the writing and story will suck. But in the best ones, it all clicks, and while you do the dishes, you’re transported to the deck of the Pequod hunting Moby Dick.
Here are three recommendations to, hopefully, help you find your first (or next) audio drama favorite.
Exeter
Jeanne Tripplehorn (The Firm) and Ray McKinnon (Deadwood; O Brother, Where Art Thou?) play detective partners in the small South Carolina County of Exeter in 1995.
In the first season, detectives Colleen and Pruitt follow evidence and hearsay to unravel a string of grisly murders: a woman found in the woods, mauled to death by a pack of dogs; a local preacher’s head found in the middle of the road placed on a collection plate. The second and third seasons continue the taut storylines laid out in the first season.
Exeter mesmerizes and never forces you to suspend your disbelief, especially on its Southernness.
The Lovecraft Investigations
I didn’t know I loved H.P. Lovecraft (his stories, anyway) until I heard The Lovecraft Investigations for the first time.
In its first season, podcasters Matthew Heawood (Barnaby Kay) and Kennedy Fisher (Jana Carpenter) set out to discover how a young man named Charles Dexter Ward went missing from his locked room at a Rhode Island asylum. They pull at any loose thread they can find until they uncover a powerful cult that has worshipped (and kept alive) a Mesopotamian god for 1,000 years.
This thread continues through seasons two, three, and four. In them, Matt and Kennedy find friends, chase UFOs, and watch as an entire town vanishes before their eyes.
Treat
The audio drama format is perfect for horror. If that’s your thing and you’re looking to dip a toe into the audio fiction world, find Treat.
Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men, Twisters) stars as an unpopular teenager in a quiet town that holds a killer secret. Can she save her town, her family, or even herself from this evil from the past? Listen to Treat (billed as a hour-and-a-half audio movie). Dun-dun-DUNNNN!
