A trend that has just begun kicking in is the adaptation of podcasts to TV series. Amazon developed both Homecoming and Lore for series, and Showtime adapted Dirty John to cash in on the recent wave of true crime fandom. Now, another popular podcast has been commissioned for a series; The Black Tapes will be adapted by American network NBC.
In the podcast, host Alex Reagan narrates a nonfiction-styled fictional story over multiple episodes. The story begins as a biography of paranormal investigator Dr. Richard Strand, an evangelical skeptic who is on a mission to debunk all claims of the supernatural.
Reagan becomes interested in his collection of unsolved cases, which she begins calling his “Black Tapes”, and the podcast evolves into an exploration of these cases, paranormal culture, and the mysterious life of Dr. Strand.
NBC reportedly envisions the series as a supernatural drama, with Emerald City co-creator Matthew Arnold and podcast creators Paul Bae and Terry Miles writing and helping to develop the show. The podcast hasn’t actually released a new episode in over a year, but it still consistently ranks on Apple‘s Top 10 podcast chart in North America, highlighting the staying power of the series.
NBC will be hoping for that same kind of drawing power. The Homecoming adaptation has been critically acclaimed, and if The Black Tapes succeeds too, perhaps this will be the start of a much wider trend of podcast-to-TV adaptations.
#Peace.Love.TheBlackTapes
