Podcast creators Dan Powell and Marc Sollinger, the duo behind popular horror series “Archive 81” — which has been adapted for television by Netflix — have set up their third podcast, “Wavelength,” involving a mysterious and sprawling supernatural conspiracy.
The 10-episode first season of “Wavelength” is set to premiere Feb. 16, 2022, on all major podcast platforms. The series is produced by Dead Signals, Powell and Sollinger’s production company.
In “Wavelength,” after investigating a mysterious incident at a tech company, two government agents are drawn into a strange conspiracy involving secretive billionaires, eccentric artists, college professors –and otherworldly entities. Like “Archive 81,” the series uses a “found-footage” conceit. “Wavelength” is a mystery “about the monsters we create, and the people who have to fight them,” according to the pair.
“Archive 81,” which debuted in March 2016, was the first podcast from Powell and Sollinger. The story revolves around an archivist’s investigation into an old cache of videotapes that hold clues to the existence of a demonic cult in an apartment building. The New York Times called it “innovative” and Nerdist featured the show on a list of “10 Horror Fiction Podcasts to Haunt Your Dreams.” Netflix developed it into a TV series that premieres on the streamer this Friday, Jan. 14, executive produced by Rebecca Sonnenshine (“The Boys,” “The Vampire Diaries”) and horror maestro James Wan (Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring film franchises).
“We really think that ‘Wavelength’ pushes forward what fiction podcasts can be,” Powell and Sollinger said in a statement. “It takes what we’re doing with ‘Archive 81’ and it takes it to the next level. We believe the combination of mystery and horror is really unique and plays to the strength of the audio medium. We’re so excited for people to take a listen.”
Dead Signals’ second podcast was “The Deep Vault,” released in 2016. It’s set in the almost-post-apocalyptic U.S. about a group of longtime friends as they journey from the uninhabitable surface world into a mysterious underground bunker in search of safety — encountering robotic servants and monsters in the claustrophobic, steel-reinforced walls of The Deep Vault.
Powell and Sollinger have backgrounds in audio storytelling, having worked at The New York Times’ The Daily and The Moth.
Pictured above: Dan Powell (l.), Marc Sollinger
