Science fiction TV is a risky business. Even a fantasy show can get away with filming plenty of scenes on a nearby hillside, but when it comes to sci-fi, it’s very much about not looking like our everyday reality. But what if you just removed the need to look like anything at all? That’s the secret behind two of the best sci-fi productions of the last couple of years: they’re podcasts. One of them even stars an Academy Award-winning actor.
Podcasts became even more ubiquitous in 2024, and with that ubiquity came increasing odds that a favorite celebrity is either hosting or guest-starring on at least one of them. This has meant that one previously niche, amateur-driven genre, pure drama podcasts (so not including actual-play RPG shows), have more recently attracted some big names (the likes of Chris Pine and Olivia Wilde starring in QCODE’s Ad Lucem, for instance, or Realm’s Spark Hunter featuring Rebecca Ferguson, Mark Rylance and Charles Dance). Admittedly, few seem to get a second season, presumably the signed celebrities expected to create bigger results than ads for Hello Fresh and mattress companies can return, but it’s well worth digging through QCODE, Realm, and Gimlet’s archives for some great dramas. (Check out The White Vault, How to Win Friends and Disappear People, Last Known Position, Ghost Tape, The Left Right Game, Echo Park, and one of the best audio dramas ever, The Lovecraft Chronicles from the BBC.)
Of the two shows we want to highlight today, one is a big-budget production with an astonishing A-list cast that likely won’t get a second run, while the other is a more indie production that, if anything, sounds even better, and is currently in its second season. Both deserve a place between your ears.
