The summer lineup features period drama ‘Phreaks’ and dark comedy ‘Eat S*** Kenny Daniels.’
Audible is ramping up its original programming output this summer with a new slate of scripted audio series.
The subscription business, which is known for its large offering of audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment, has tapped voice talent including Carrie Coon, Christian Slater, Kevin Bacon and Yvette Nicole Brown as it invests to bring more original and exclusive stories to listeners.
The summer slate of Audible Originals includes period drama Phreaks, novella Yard Work, dark comedy Eat Sh*t Kenny Daniels and comedy Vroom Vroom.
“Each of these projects feature narratives written and performed to create intimate and unique listening experiences, and showcase an extraordinary roster of talented performers and artists,” Audible Originals editor-in-chief David Blum said in a statement.
Phreaks tells the story of a group of fledgling phone hackers in the 1970s who form the first virtual community. Penned by Matt Derby, who co-wrote Sandra for Gimlet Media, the 10-part scripted original features a voice cast that includes Slater, Coon, Ben McKenzie and Justice Smith. See’s Bree Klauser stars as Emma Gable, a blind teen who stumbles into the underground Phreak culture while exploring Bell Telephone’s network.
Also planned is Yard Work, a piece of short fiction from David Koepp. Bacon stars in the project, which follows an elderly judge reeling from his wife’s death who decides to live out his final years at the lake house where the couple spent their happiest times. But his life is threatened when an aggressive vine begins to take over the house — and his body.
“I love movie writing, but it’s such a joy to write prose and bring the focus back to the words in my Audible debut,” Koepp said of turning to audio storytelling. “And to have my friend and colleague Kevin Bacon bring life and soul to them is an honor and delight.”
In Eat Sh*t Kenny Daniels, Alicia Silverstone stars as an amateur podcast host who begins to investigate an unexamined moment from her past. But her quest for light-hearted revenge against her middle school tormentor turns into a murder mystery that unravels her whole life. Produced by Big Breakfast, the project hails from creators Tony Wilson, Luke Kelly-Clyne and Susanna Wolff, who also wrote alongside Zach Broussard and Kerry McGuire. It boasts a large voice cast that includes Bobby Moynihan, Zac Oyama, Mike Trapp and Owen Robinson.
Rounding out the slate is Vroom Vroom, a comedy from playwright and High Fidelity writer Josh Koenigsberg. Starring Andy Richter and Brown, it focuses on the workers at a used Ford dealership in upstate New York who band together to keep the business alive after they discover that their rival is trying to put them out of business. The series is produced by Studio71 and also stars John DiMaggio, Rick Gonzalez, Lucy DeVito, Mic Daily and Azhar Khan.
The four projects join a roster of Audible Originals that include comedy adventure Escape from Virtual Island starring Paul Rudd, Jack McBrayer, Paula Pell and Amber Ruffin and dark comedy Cut and Run starring Meg Ryan, D’Arcy Carden and Sam Richardson.
