Studio71 US is launching its first ever scripted serialized podcast, in partnership with Snarled Entertainment.
The Shadow Diaries is a thrilling new series that uncovers the terrifying reality behind the glitz and glamour of the world’s number one popstar, and stars Kara Hayward (Moonrise Kingdom) and Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale).
“This is a story I’ve wanted to tell ever since I was touring with my own band years ago,” noted The Shadow Diaries co-writer and director, K. Asher Levin. “My writing partner Zack Imbrogno and I have had such a wonderful experience working with the team at Studio71 on what I hope will be the first of many projects. I’m also grateful for our spectacular cast who lent their voices to this project and a special thanks to one of our leads, Kara Hayward, who I get the pleasure to work with again on the horror film I’m directing and co-wrote, which starts shooting next month.”
Gayle Gilman, Executive Producer of The Shadow Diaries and CEO of Snarled Entertainment, said “I wanted to create a narrative podcast that would captivate fans of Snarled Entertainment’s weekly ghost stories as well as fans of the typical horror genre seen in TV and films today. We’ve loved working with Studio71’s podcast team on Something Scary and their scripted team’s experience with the V/H/S horror anthology franchise made them the best partner for this edge-of-your-seat supernatural thriller series.”
“It’s been an amazing experience working with our podcast team on Studio71’s first scripted narrative series,” said Michael Schreiber, President of Scripted Content at Studio71. “Partnering with great creative talents like Gayle Gilman and K. Asher Levin to bring this genre-bending series to life has been a dream and we can’t wait for audiences to fall in love with this electrifying story set in the world of pop music stardom.”
“Studio71’s podcast division has had an incredibly successful year launching over 30 unscripted series but we’re really excited for the premiere of our first scripted serialized podcast, which marks our inaugural project working alongside our scripted team and another spooky series in partnership with our friends at Snarled Entertainment,” added Stephen Perlstein, Vice President of Podcasts at Studio71. “With Halloween just around the corner, The Shadow Diaries is the perfect fictional horror series for you to sink your teeth into.”
The Shadow Diaries is a genre bending series which follows wide-eyed journalist Shana Secco (Hayward) as she gets her first assignment, to shadow her childhood musical idol, the elusive popstar Eliza Gold (Petsch). As she sets out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, getting a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a global pop sensation, Shana soon finds that Eliza Gold’s surprise comeback may actually be the sinister workings of a mysterious group known as ‘The Divinity.’ But while Shana settles into her new life amongst the rich and famous, she is forced to question her own sanity and wellbeing as demonic forces begin to creep into every aspect of her life. Will Shana be able to look past the celeb parties, exclusive clubs and five-star treatment as Eliza Gold’s new best friend, or will they both succumb to the Hellish forces of The Divinity?
New episodes of The Shadow Diaries will be released weekly, starting Wednesday, October 28. Listeners can subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, listen on Spotify; and it is also available on Google.