Unwell (podcast)
 | |
| Other names | Unwell |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Starring | |
| Original release | October 3, 2017 |
| No. of series | 5 |
| Website | www |
Unwell, a Midwestern Gothic Mystery is a drama-dark fantasy horror podcast produced by Hartlife NFP. It premiered on February 19, 2019, and concluded on September 13, 2023, with the end of its fifth season.
The story follows a woman named Lilian "Lily" Harper (voiced by Clarisa Cherie Rios) returning back to her native remote town of Mt. Absalom, Ohio to look after her semi-estranged mother Dorothy "Dot" Harper (Marsha Harman), who runs a boarding house and recently suffered an injury; as strange events multiply, Lily and boarding house residents Abigail "Abbie" Douglas (Kathleen Hoil) and Rudolphus "Rudy" Peltham (Joshua K. Harris) start suspecting that Mt. Absalom -and its residents- are hiding many secrets. The podcast won a 2021 Audio Drama Award from the BBC.
Background
[edit]The podcast began on February 19, 2019.[1][2][3] The podcast is produced by Hartlife NFP.[4] The show was inspired by Gravity Falls and House of Leaves.[5] The premise of the show is that the protagonist, Lillian Harper, has returned home to her mother who owns an old boarding house in the Midwestern United States where strange things have been happening.[6] Lily and her mother have been estranged for a long time, but her mother injured herself and needed someone to care for her while she recovered.[7]
Reception
[edit]Phoebe Lett wrote in The New York Times that the show might be horror but is also "goofy, romantic, funny or heart warming."[8] Wil Williams commented on Polygon that the podcast uses silence to make the audience unsettled rather than jump scares.[9] Scott Beggs wrote in Thrillist that the podcast "has the highest quality sound production."[10] Toni Oisin wrote in Collider that the podcast is an "enticing and fresh listen."[11] Digital Trends included the show on their best of 2022 list and said it had "impeccable audio and a quirky sense of humor."[12][13] The podcast won a 2021 Audio Drama Award from BBC.[14][15]
References
[edit]- ^ Williams, Wil (April 2, 2019). "The 9 best podcasts of 2019 (so far)". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "First Impressions: Hartlife NFP's "Unwell" Delivers on Midwestern Gothic". Wil Williams Reviews. February 20, 2019. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "The Best Scary Podcasts To Keep You up All Night". Digital Trends. March 30, 2021. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "Unwell: Midwestern Gothic Mystery Podcast Strikes Great Balance". The Mary Sue. February 20, 2019. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ Wacek, Michele Pariza (May 2020). Olsher, Steve (ed.). "Unwell: A Supernatural Metaphor" (PDF). Podcast Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 4. San Diego, CA. pp. 48–51. ISSN 2690-4608. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
- ^ "20 Horror Podcasts That Will Scare the Bejesus Out of You". Lifehacker Australia. September 28, 2021. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ Liptak, Andrew (April 7, 2019). "Unwell is a fantastic gothic horror podcast set in midwest America". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
- ^ Lett, Phoebe (March 8, 2020). "Podcasts Worth a Listen: 'Fiasco,' 'Unwell,' 'In Those Genes'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
- ^ Williams, Wil (December 23, 2019). "The best podcasts of 2019". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
- ^ "These 13 Horror Podcasts Will Scare the Sh*t Out of You". Thrillist. April 11, 2017. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "7 Horror Fiction Podcasts to Check Out While You Wait for the Next Episode of 'Dark Woods'". Collider. December 7, 2021. Archived from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "The Best Podcasts You Should Listen To in 2022". Digital Trends. August 20, 2021. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "The 10 Scariest Horror Podcasts". Digital Trends. February 5, 2021. Archived from the original on May 6, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "News: BBC Audio Drama Awards 2021 – Full Results". Beyond The Joke. March 27, 2021. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 – BBC Audio Drama Awards – Audio Drama Awards 2021 – The Winners". BBC. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2022.