Studio: Earwolf
Category: Comedy
What It Is
Matt Besser & the guys behind Earwolf allow comedy podcasts to compete for a year-long contract with Earwolf.
Technical Details
This show ran from July to September of 2011; it was structured very much like a reality television competition show with the competing podcasts have to compete in challenges, etc. This was originally touted as the first season, but the show never came back for a second season. But the entire archive of 31 episodes is available at the iTunes page.
What About It
I love Scott Aukerman & Earwolf so I was very interested in this podcast when I heard about it. But unfortunately, much as I like Earwolf and Matt Besser I found this to be pretty underwhelming. It would be more interesting, I think, if I was in to the mechanics of podcasting; there’s a lot of shop talk in other words. And I simply didn’t think any of the podcasts chosen were all that great; some of them were just painfully unfunny. Luckily, Besser was on hand to be his usual acerbic self and he managed to get some laughs out of me, but the format of the show was just intended to be more serious. That wouldn’t be a problem if I was invested in the contestants, but I really just wasn’t, not finding any of them particularly interesting. So it’s not comedy, but neither is it compelling as a competition show. It’s not that it’s awful; the Earwolf folks are too smart for that. But it just didn’t grab me and ultimately, I’d say, isn’t worth your time. Does the failure of the show to have a second season indicate that the Earwolf folks agree with me? Maybe.
2 ½ stars.
Essential If
You’ve wondered why there hasn’t been a reality competition show for podcasts yet.
Avoid Like the Plague If
The word “podcast” tends to send you into allergic shock.
Best Entry Point
Well, if you’re going to listen to it, obviously, you start with Meet the Podcasts, Day 1, the first episode.