If you can’t get enough of shows like Only Murders in the Building, this news is for you: Headgum has announced a new true crime comedy podcast, Corked!
A new limited four-part series created by Jonathan Grimm & Giancarlo Fiorentini, Corked is a narrative “true” crime comedy podcast. Coming from Headgum, the comedy podcast network behind Doughboys, Dead Eyes, and Newcomers with Lauren Lapkus & Nicole Byer, this blend of Sideways and Serial may be your new favorite podcast.
Corked follows Jeffers Tatum Trench, a jilted roughneck from Louisiana, as he goes to investigative journalist Miles Fletcher about the mystery of what happened to Frances Meyer — the missing girlfriend of the famous and brash winemaker Lyle Le Monde. Trench is sure that Lyle is living under a false identity and that Frances isn’t just missing — Lyle murdered her! Miles investigates and learns that Lyle is, in fact, not his real name. He actually grew up with Jeffers in Louisiana as Robert “Buzzy” Baldanza, and the two were two-bit criminals, best friends, and maybe a bit more.
Miles learns more about Lyle throughout the investigation, which raises red flags. Although the Napa police initially ruled him out as a suspect, Lyle’s father’s background with the mafia, his own criminal history, and his less than convincing alibi for the night Frances went missing raise doubts. Unfortunately, it seems that every time Miles pins down a lead, a new one pops up!
Listen to the trailer below!
Starring the likes of Anthony Gioe, Whitmer Thomas, Jon Gabrus, Betsy Sodaro, Mary Holland, Dan Klein, Josh Ruben, Ally Beardsley, Lou Wilson, and Natalie Palamides, the show is full of absurd characters and fun improv moments. With a genuine mystery underwriting the whole thing, this immersive mystery unfolds more like a game of whack-a-mole than a real true crime podcast. However, through in-the-field interviews, dramatic narration over moody music, and many of the other features fans expect from a true crime podcast, Corked pays homage to the genre that it’s imitating.
Co-creators Grimm and Fiorentini even called Corked “Our spin on two core pillars of the podcasting world that have become emblematic genres — true crime and public radio investigations that shine a light on society’s ills” while still being a chance to “swing for the fences in terms of silliness.” And they certainly know how to do silliness! With writing credits including projects for Disney, Comedy Central, MTV, Funny or Die, and more, not to mention their Webby-award-winning work on the CollegeHumor series Jake and Amir or their Webby-award-nominated shorts Facebook Ruins Job Interview and 36 Questions, the duo certainly knows their way around humor.
So if you’re looking for your next big listen, check out Corked when it premieres next Tuesday, August 16 wherever you get your podcasts.
