Podcasts have been resurging as a new form of entertainment, especially for listeners already acquainted with their favourite audio dramas. It’s no surprise that as of 2021, Spotify’s paid premium membership boasted up to 165 million active subscribers. Even more noticeably, we’re beginning to see new genres emerging on the horizon. As nostalgia takes hold, celebrity TV rewatch shows are dominating the medium.
We’ve heard it all. True crime, drama, sci-fi, and audio biographies. This genre of nostalgia-fueled intrigue has risen during quarantine, with many of us reverting back to our middle-school interests to comfort us in these stressful times. T.V. rewatch podcasts serve the same effect, only in pocket-sized audio form starring the celebrities who inspired our nostalgia. If you’re a fan of The O.C, a teen soap opera made in the early 2000s, then you’ll enjoy their new celebrity binge podcast that began in April of last year. Each episode features commentary by Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke, who dive into episodes of the past while delivering behind-the-scenes exclusives.
In 2019, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey launched their rewatch podcast Office Ladies, where they come together every week to discuss The Office and interview past guests of the show, for old times’ sake. This sitcom won iHeartRadio’s award for podcast of the year in 2021, winning over the hearts of fans who crave the feeling of old familiarity.
This phenomenon isn’t exclusive to just these two shows. Podcasts are skyrocketing like no tomorrow, with a growing audience of 51 per cent of Americans over the age of 12 listening to podcasts. While I haven’t personally listened to Welcome to the O.C., Bitches! or Office Ladies, I’ll admit that I’ve contributed to Spotify’s overwhelming amount of daily podcast listeners. There’s just something so accessible about stories being packaged nicely in an audio format with a little bow on top.
The appeal is there, it’s always been there; from the rise of old-time talk show radios in the 20’s, to people originally getting their daily news source in an audio-episodic format. What’s intriguing, I find, is the ability to listen into a conversation with other like-minded fans picking up on all the things you previously missed on your first rewatch. “Oh, the message of the story was that? You’re joking!” And so the fandom discussions begin, and more podcasts are made in response to a demand for similar voices.
In the height of the 2020 lockdowns, podcasts nearly replaced my traditional mode of entertainment, with films and TV shows exiled to a long shadow far behind me (sorry, Euphoria). I found myself completely engrossed in horror and sci-fi podcasts such as The Magnus Archives, Wolf 359, and Archive 81 — which has now been adapted as a series on Netflix. These are ridiculously good. Seriously. I say this with my chest when I confess that podcasts can be phenomenally addicting, outstandingly witty, and heart-wrenching all in two hours and thirty-six minutes. So, if you’re looking for an audio drama to lose yourself in someone else’s problems, or a celebrity T.V. rewatch that will satisfy your binge after an incredibly nostalgic series, then podcasts are for you.
Image: Brielle Quon / The Cascade
