In today’s podcast news roundup, Dana Carvey and David Spade will be back for a second season of “Fly on the Wall,” revisiting iconic moments from “Saturday Night Live”; Apple Podcasts unveils two new charts for subscriptions; George R.R. Martin talks up “House of the Dragon”; Comedy Central greenlights “The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Conspiracy”; and more.
RENEWALS
Audacy’s Cadence13 extended its partnership with comedians Dana Carvey and David Spade, renewing their “Saturday Night Live”-focused podcast series “Fly on the Wall” for a second season, slated to launch in January 2023. On the weekly show, Carvey and Spade sit down with fellow “SNL” alums and present cast, as well as hosts, writers and musical guests to talk about their favorite moments from the late-night variety show. Guests on Season 1, which premiered in January 2022, have included Chris Rock — whose comments about his experience with childhood bullying went viral in the wake of Will Smith slapping Rock on stage at the Oscars — as well as Mike Myers, Tom Hanks, Tina Fey, Bill Hader, Jon Lovitz, Martin Short, Tim Meadows, Rob Lowe, John Mulaney, Laraine Newman, Ben Stiller, Bob Odenkirk, Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien.
“Fly on the Wall” is executive produced by Cadence13’s Chris Corcoran, Carvey and Spade, and co-executive produced by Charlie Finan of Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Heather Santoro. Carvey is represented by CAA and Brillstein. Spade’s deal was brokered by WME; he is repped by UTA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.
Carvey said in a statement, “One year ago, I answered my phone and an unfamiliar voice said, ‘Hey bro, would you like to do a podcast?’ I said, ‘Who are you and how did you get this number?’ Later I realized it was the incredibly funny David Spade. I called back. ‘Can I do it wearing sweatpants from my basement?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘I’m in.’” Spade added, “Doing a podcast is like onlyFans for comedians. The idea of reminiscing about ‘SNL’ and comedy in general sounded fun, especially with a first-ballot hall of famer like Dana Carvey. Looking forward to more shows and talking over people.”
CHARTS
Apple Podcasts on Thursday is releasing two new charts: Top Subscriber Shows, ranking podcasts that offer premium benefits through Apple Podcasts Subscriptions and letting listeners browse the top 100 shows included within a subscription; and Top Subscriber Channels, featuring the top 100 channels with a subscription and two or more shows, ranked based on listener engagements. The new charts are available in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia for listeners on iPhone, iPad, and Mac using iOS 15.6, iPadOS 15.6, and macOS 12.5 or later. The new charts join Apple Podcasts’ Top Shows and Top Episodes, which continue to represent engagement with free and paid podcasts.
In the U.S., at launch the most popular subscriber shows are “Morbid” with Alaina Urquhart and Ashleigh Kelley, “Smartless,” “Something Was Wrong with Tiffany Reese,” “Fed Up” with Casey Wilson and Marc Smerling’s new series, “Crooked City: Youngstown, OH,” part of Sony Music’s The Binge. The top subscriber channels in the U.S. currently are Amazon’s Wondery+, Sword and Scale +Plus Light, Sony Music’s The Binge, Luminary and Pushkin Industries’ Pushkin+.
DATES
George R.R. Martin was a guest on “The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon” on the show’s Aug. 17 episode, ahead of Sunday’s premiere of “House of the Dragon” on HBO and HBO Max. In the final episode before the podcast shifts to an in-season companion format, Martin explained his thought process behind creating the world of Westeros, detailed similarities and differences between “Game of Thrones” and “House of the Dragon”; and shared what he’s most excited about for audiences to see in the new series. Compared with “Game of Thrones,” he says in the podcast episode, “‘House of the Dragon’ is much more like a Shakespearean tragedy. It’s full of great characters who you can love, or you can hate, and guys who seem to be really sons of bitches and bad guys will do heroic things.”
Podcast network Lemonada Media has teamed with BIPOC-focused podcast company SomeFriends and audio-first media company SALT to launch “First,” an unscripted comedy podcast created and hosted by Kareem Rahma, co-founder of SomeFriends. The podcast is slated to launch Nov. 1, 2022, on all major podcast platforms. In each episode, Rahma will sit down with a fellow comedian to share the story of a groundbreaking first — a trailblazing person who was the first to break down a racial barrier in their respective field. Subjects to be covered include Connie Chung, the first Asian American to anchor a major network newscast; Wendell Scott, the first African American driver to win a race at NASCAR’s highest level; Omar Sharif, the first Muslim actor nominated for an Academy Award; and Willie O’Ree, the first Black player in the NHL.
Tenderfoot TV and iHeartMedia will launch “Le Monstre,” the latest installment in their “Monster Franchise,” on Aug. 23. The 10-episode “Le Monstre” podcast recounts the story of real-life monster and serial killer Marc Dutroux with hopes of shedding new evidence on the cases that shook Belgium in the 1980s and ’90s — and brought the country to the brink of a revolution. Hosted by Marc Graves, the series will launch with the first two episodes across iHeartRadio and all podcast platforms, and new episodes will launch on following Tuesdays.
NFL veteran wide receiver and Super Bowl LIII MVP Julian Edelman will make his podcast debut with “Games With Names,” co-hosted with comedian Sam Morril , launching Aug. 23 on major podcast platforms. The weekly series promises a who’s who of athletes, coaches and celebrity fans reliving the most iconic moments in sports. Guests are set to include Peyton Manning, Paul Pierce and Michael Irvin. The podcast is produced by Edelman’s Coast Productions and Superdigital.
GREENLIGHTS
Comedy Central announced podcast series “The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Conspiracy,” produced in partnership with iHeartMedia. The six-episode limited podcast series is set to debut this fall. In the series, the “Daily Show” contributor digs deep into some of the wildest theories he’s heard and traces their origins with journalists, experts — and “anyone who might have a lead on when JFK Jr. is coming back,” per the network. The podcast will key off Klepper’s recurring “Daily Show” segment, “Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse (JKFTP),” in which he has tackled anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers, and Trump rallyists over the last several years.
RESEARCH
Edison Research this week released its third annual Latino Podcast Listener Report. Among the key findings: 59% of U.S. Latinos 18 and older have ever listened to a podcast, up from 56% in 2021 and 45% in 2020; 76% of U.S. Latino monthly podcast listeners have gathered more information about a company or product as a result of hearing a sponsorship or ad on a podcast with a Latino host and 74% have recommended a product to a friend or family member as a result of hearing a sponsorship or ad on a podcast with a Latino host. The Latino Podcast Listener Report 2022 is available at this link.
