Edge Studios website made a rather curious pronouncement recently.
” The heyday of radio drama gave way to television drama, but the genre never entirely died. It survived here and there — on radio, records, on-stage and the Internet – till now it has been coming back, in a big way.”
It looks like more and more folk are taking notice that the modern audio drama movement (MADaM if you will) has begun to take off. In this blog post from Edge Studios they name off the following popular shows:
“The Truth” is an early anthology series that debuted in 2012. The acting is naturalistic, but recent storyline is rather surreal.
“Welcome to Night Vale” is another early entry. It features a narrator rather than dialog, in what’s been called a “bizarre storytelling form.”
“Limetown” launched in 2015. It’s about a fictional reporter with (equally fictional?) American Public Radio, but it’s a podcast, not a radio program. Reviews have compared it to The Message, and Limetown has been similarly popular at iTunes.
“LifeAfter” the second series produced by Panoply and GE Podcast Theater, which they launched late in 2016.
“The Message” is kin to “General Electric Theater” in the golden days of television. Will this someday be referred to as the “golden days of podcasting”? If so, what will have changed or emerged by then?
“Alice Isn’t Dead” emerged to haunt 2015. Fantastical, but definitely not a comedy.
“The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air)” features a multi-person cast, and well-known guest stars Tim Robbins and Mandy Patinkin.
“A Night Called Tomorrow,” available only through Howl, a collection of content for $4.99 a month.
“Fruit” is also on Howl, but previews and at least some episodes are available elsewhere.
“Homecoming” is a “psychological thriller” cast with A-list actors. Now you know what voice actors like Oscar Isaac, Catherine Keener, David Schwimmer, David Cross, and Amy Sedaris have been doing lately.
“Serendipity” is called “a preview of audio drama’s future” by the New York Times. It presents audio fiction gathered worldwide.
Some of these shows you’re recognize as podficts, and some of these are behind pay walls. Go read the original article and remind them, that we’ve been here watching the slow boom of our beloved medium for a while now.
Welcome to the MADaM!
At the beginning of 2017 a new audio drama based on the crimes and passions of Hollywood was released and named appropriately: 
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