Audio Dramas Will be Your Next Obsession

By Bryan Kittman | November 1, 2019

We are living in the golden age of podcasting. Podcasts have evolved to become a serious medium for content spanning a wide variety of topics and genres. It has never been easier to escape the boredom of a long drive or doing household chores all day thanks to podcasts. 

One genre in particular has risen to occupy a unique place in the podcasting world: audio dramas. This genre represents the fiction and storytelling realm of podcasting, presenting listeners with fully fleshed-out characters, settings, and stories told solely through the use of audio. Essentially a fully produced movie without the video, audio drama podcasts go one step further than a regular fiction audiobook, presenting the listener with a much more immersive experience. 

In the early days of radio, audio dramas were highly popular but were surpassed in popularity with the advent of television. Despite its fall from grace, the audio drama era flourished from the 1930s – 1960s, bringing with it massively popular performances like Orson Welles’ The War of the Worlds and the BBC’s soap opera, The Archers. 

Now, podcasting has thrust the audio drama back into the spotlight once again, bringing with it a flurry of excellent content. If you’re curious about audio dramas, these are the shows you absolutely have to check out. 

Welcome to Night Vale

Each episode is a community radio broadcast from a peculiar desert town that is heavily steeped in a zany blend of supernatural, sci-fi, and surreal characters and happenings. The show can be characterized as a wonderfully weird horror drama that is balanced out by a layer of comedy that makes it supremely enjoyable. 

Blackout 

Starring Oscar-winning actor, Rami Malek, Blackout is a dystopian thriller set in America after a mysterious attack has caused the power to go out across the country. The show focuses on a small-time town in Rhode Island and explores how humanity can quickly devolve into anarchy in the face of the breakdown of society. 

The Edge of Sleep 

When a mysterious virus kills everyone who falls asleep, a small band of survivors must come together to figure out how to survive in a world where sleep has become a death sentence. This show is a true gem among audio dramas, featuring top-notch production and excellent performances from its cast. 

Limetown 

A docudrama following a reporter who investigates the strange story of Limetown, a place where hundreds of people disappeared without a trace. Upon finding a survivor, reported Lia Haddock quickly begins to learn that the truth behind Limetown is infinitely more sinister than any could have expected. 

Archive 81 

After archivist Dan Powell starts a new job reviewing recordings at a mysterious facility, he begins to uncover a dark and sinister secret. Similar to a found footage sub-genre of horror, Archive 81 is a bizarre yet captivating story that will draw you in after the first episode.