The Fangirl Business is a Supernatural themed podcast created and hosted by Dr. Chrisha Anderson and Catherine McKenna. It was “created to process the emotional roller coaster of Supernatural coming to an end,” after 15 seasons. Supernatural is the longest science fiction/genre show in American television history. The name of the podcast is a play on the quote said by the Winchester brothers, “Saving people, hunting things. The family business,” and it does not disappoint in providing the SPN Family with some “Fangirl Business.” If you are a Supernatural fan, member of the SPN Family, interested in the academic analysis of television, or want to hear more about your favorite characters or episodes, this podcast is for you. Chrisha and Catherine have fun talking through their responses and theories on how the show is progressing. They often interact with listeners on social media and get ideas, and explore fandom theories, as well as writer theories.
The podcast was born out of the reaction to the fandoms concern over this year’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). Both could see on social media that people were really struggling. Neither of them had done a podcast before, but somewhere along the way, a few people had said in response on social media threads on Twitter that they should give it go. They had toyed with the idea, wanting to start when season 15 of Supernatural premiered last fall. But the reaction from SDCC pushed up the timeline and made the podcasts focus much more on how the SPN Family were feeling. In response to both the content of the show as well as to the fandom-related things that are happening outside of the show.
The one thing the podcast set out to do is to validate what many fans are feeling about the ending of the show and to encourage great discussions between fans and academics. This podcast is a safe place for people to process their feelings about the show, the goings-on in the fandom, do deep dives into characters, and to theorize on characters, plots, and all the twists and turns. It is a place of excitement, joy, and authentic fangirling about Supernatural.
The Fangirl Business is busy, and Chrisha and Catherine often have to record two podcast episodes per Supernatural episode, sometimes three! The podcasts explore each episode in-depth, have emotional check-ins, and provide support in stressful times. Most are very personal. They also take ideas and comments from fans on social media. Chrisha and Catherine are deeply invested and can hear the excitement in the podcasts with fangirl squeeing regularly.
Since September 2019, these two have managed to create 35 full length and six mini-podcast episodes. They have at least 100 listens per episode and 130 unique listeners from around the world from over 400 cities and 40 countries, including Brazil, Egypt, and Poland. With the biggest audiences thus far in the USA and the UK.
Here is a small taste of some of our favorite episodes:
Episode 1: Endings are Hard
In the very first episode of The Fangirl Business, Chrisha and Catherine discuss “the announcement,” and the fallout from San Diego Comic-Con and the Supernatural cast’s last Hall H appearance, and why they created the podcast.
Episode 6.1: Processing “The Rupture” (Rowena, Sam, & Ketch)
The feels were real for “The Rupture,” and Chrisha and Catherine had a lot to talk about – so much so that they ended up making this podcast a two-parter. There was also a lot of Kleenex involved. In part one, they talk about Rowena, Sam, and Ketch, how the episode honored these characters, their stories, and their redemptions. Even as it dealt out huge blows.
Episode 7: Managing Fandom Experiences on Social Media
Navigating our way through fandom on social media can be rough. Catherine and Chrisha talk about what’s worked for them as Supernatural fangirls. Giving practical tips about how to manage and cultivate our feeds for a positive fandom experience, and put it all in the context of the heightened emotions surrounding the final season of Supernatural.
Episode 15.3: “The Trap,” Dean, and Cas (Shipping Edition)
In part three of their three-parter on “The Trap,” Chrisha and Catherine have all the fun talking about shipping. All the fun. They discuss the various ships from the show, the parallels, and the subtext. This episode is the most listened to date and also is the favorite with the creators of the podcast.
Episode 20: We Have Some Theories (…and they are FUN!)
Chrisha and Catherine take the time to delve into some theories they’ve been working on since January. Yup. Big stuff. Angels, demigods, hope, the upending of entire systems – they talk about it all in this last hiatus podcast before Supernatural returns with episode 12. If you’re looking for some encouragement about how the series may end, take a listen!
The Fangirl Business, like so many others, are coming to terms with the pause in the filming. With their last podcast happening in the middle of COVID-19 when countries across the world were in lockdown, and before the end of the last (unexpected) hiatus. We can prepare for at least a few more podcasts for each episode of Supernatural and some special features.
The mixture of fangirl excitement and academic theorizing about Supernatural, interaction with the fans and crew of Supernatural, is what makes this podcast unique and enjoyable. We highly recommend giving it a listen. For more information, catch up with The Fangirl Business on Twitter, and for a complete list of their episodes and to listen to the podcast, check out Buzzsprout, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean, iHeartRadio, Podtail, and ListenNotes.