Podcast

Podcast is a diversity-driven series designed to uplift marginalized women. Imagine a badass female Joe Rogan from Detroit with the supporting cast of 30 Rock. Podcast is centered around Super Loco "Amanda" Rodriguez a single journalist and US Army veteran. The happiest moments of Amanda's life were when she worked in the Armed Forces Radio Network in the military. She misses the feeling of family. So, Amanda jumps at the opportunity to take over programming at WJR 760 Talk Radio and Podcast Studios in her hometown of Detroit. The owner wants Amanda to change the station’s format to a more robust conservative following. But this triggers a showdown with Amanda and her co-workers' liberal goals to be “evolutionaries in conscious media.” Now add a sexist villain who runs the #1 podcast in the same building. He sees Amanda as a threat to his business. So, he makes her an offer – Amanda must limit her own success to keep her station at #2, or he will report them to Spotify for ethics violations that will shut them down. Now if Amanda loses her job, she’ll end up back on the streets of Detroit where she came from. If she makes the deal, everyone keeps working, but she’ll be a sellout to a creep. Amanda sticks to her principles. The studio gets shut down. Amanda is out of work. Her dreams are crushed. This is when her emotional journey becomes ours. Now we care about Amanda because, she stood up for what was right. We root for her because, her beliefs will elevate everyone around her. Amanda rallies her co-workers (including the owner) and they all chip in to pay the Spotify fines. In return, her fellow employees each receive fractional ownership in the podcast studio. The channel reopens. Amanda and her staff keep their jobs. She has healed her inner wound by creating a makeshift family. And she’s achieved her external goal of running the studio. But this is where Amanda’s character arc gets a fascinating twist. Amanda feels grateful to everyone including the owner for their help. This gratitude is the catalyst for a new phase of her life. Amanda feels like she is maturing and becoming a better manager under the owner's tutelage. But Amanda’s shifting “centrist” attitude looks like a betrayal to her liberal staff. Now Amanda is stuck in the middle between her co-workers on the left and the conservative owner on her right. Her workplace is a constant tug-of-war of values and social rules she must navigate where everybody has bet their last dollar on the future success of the station. This pressure cooker and culture clash is the engine that creates the ongoing comedy for the series. And all the characters get the same A+ character arc with B and C stories the audience will connect with. The sharp ensemble cast is buoyed by fast-paced dialogue combined with physical humor and visual gags. Quick-witted and farcical, each story line involves satirical takes on historical events, news stories, and pop culture references.