The New York Times Company will purchase Serial Productions, the podcast studio behind hit show “Serial” and “S-Town,” the company announced Wednesday.
Serial Productions, co-founded by Ira Glass, Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder, will continue to commission, produce and edit its own podcasts under the Times’ banner, which said “will allow the Serial team to tell more stories and produce more series than they had previously.” Upcoming shows already commissioned include “Nice White Parents,” a forthcoming series hosted by reporter Chana Joffe-Walt that will examine the role of white family in the public education system. The first episode will premiere July 30.
The New York Times Company has also reached what it calls “a strategic alliance” with Glass’ “This American Life,” which will remain an independent company producing shows weekly on Chicago Public Radio’s WBEZ and on podcast apps.
“Serial” debuted in 2014 and was created in partnership with the creators of “This American Life” and Chicago Public Radio’s WBEZ. The narrative-driven true crime podcast won the National Edward R. Murrow Award for a news series and website in June 2017 for its second season, which focused on Army veteran Bowe Bergdahl’s journey from escaping Taliban capture to being dishonorably discharged from the Army following accusations that he deserted.
Glass, Koenig and Snyder helped produce both “Serial” and “S-Town. Koenig hosted “Serial,” which inspired a Serial Productions spin-off show called “S-Town” that launched in March 2017 with host Brian Reed.
“We’re incredibly proud of ‘Serial’ and wanted to find a home where we felt shared values, one where we would be supported and resourced to tell more stories, of the highest quality,” Snyder said in a statement Wednesday. “We’re thrilled to be joining The Times, where they have demonstrated a commitment to pursuing the possibilities of audio and long-form narrative journalism.”
Podcast analytics firm Podtrac keeps tabs on the top podcast publishing outfits each month, and in June found that the New York Times’ podcasting division ranked third, with a monthly domestic audience count of roughly 11.9 million across its 14 active shows. This American Life/Serial Productions ranked No. 14 on Podtrac’s June list, with an estimated 4.5 million monthly U.S. listeners tuning into its two podcasts.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
10 TV Shows Based on Podcasts Ranked, From 'Homecoming' to '2 Dope Girls' (Photos)
"Homecoming" is back and "Dirty John" will be returning for its second season on June 2. Here are other TV shows based on successful podcasts, with their Metacritic ranking (as of May 24, 2020).
"Up and Vanished" (2018 - )
Metacritic score: n/a
Payne Lindsey's true-crime podcast first became a successful two-part special on Oxygen, exploring the disappearance of Georgia schoolteacher Tara Grinstead. And then it became a series, with Payne and his team exploring a new cold case in each episode.
Oxygen
"Alex Inc." - based on "StartUp" (2018)
Metacritic score: 49
Zach Braff played a journalist who quits his job to start his own podcast business -- in a short-lived ABC sitcom very loosely based on Alex Blumberg's "StartUp" podcast about the founding of his own Gimlet Media podcast network.
ABC
"StarTalk" (2015 - )
Metacritic score: 55
Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson adapted his hit podcast into a long-running talk show on NatGeo, with a wide variety of guests beyond the science (and even sci-fi) field.
National Geographic
"Dirty John" (2018 - )
Metacritic score: 58
Connie Britton and Eric Bana starred in the first season of this true-crime anthology series based on the Wondery podcast about love gone wrong. The second season starred an ill-fated coupled played by Amanda Peet and Christian Slater.
USA
"Lore" (2017-18)
Metacritic score: 60
Aaron Mahnke's podcast exploring the true histories behind horror legends like werewolves and vampires inspired an anthology series that blended dramatic scenes, animation and narration and ran for two seasons on Amazon.
Amazon Prime
"Limetown" (2019)
Metacritic score: 62
Jessica Biel starred in this Facebook Watch series that told the fictional story of the disappearance of 300 people at a Tennessee neuroscience facility. But the show failed to capture the creepy immersiveness of the original podcast and lasted only one season.
Facebook
"The Ricky Gervais Show" (2010-12)
Metacritic score: 62
The creator of "The Office" adapted his radio show (with Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington) into a podcast, and then into an animated HBO series that made its potty-humor jokes literal.
HBO
"Comedy Bang! Bang!" (2012-16)
Metacritic score: 67
Scott Aukerman adapted his comedy podcast into a parody talk show that ran for five seasons on IFC.
IFC
"Homecoming" (2018 - )
Metacritic score: 76
Julia Roberts starred in the first season of this show, based on Gimlet's fictional podcast about a secret government program to transition U.S. war veterans back to civilian life. Janelle Monaé took center stage in Season 2.
Amazon Prime
"2 Dope Queens" (2018 - )
Metacritic score: 87
"Daily Show" alum Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson adapted their hit comedy podcast into an HBO series that hits a broad range of topics.
HBO
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A growing number of TV shows have been inspired by audio hits
"Homecoming" is back and "Dirty John" will be returning for its second season on June 2. Here are other TV shows based on successful podcasts, with their Metacritic ranking (as of May 24, 2020).