Thus far, every time you hear that Jordan Peele is cooking something up, it’s worth paying attention to. Just this year alone, he delivered a fun, occasionally grim look at the Hollywood and entertainment culture machinery with Nope back in July, followed by his reunion with longtime collaborator Keegan-Michael Key for Henry Selick’s stop-motion horror flick, Wendell & Wild. For his next venture, Peele is following in the footsteps of several men before him who’ve suddenly realised they have a microphone and turning his eye towards podcasting.
Announced earlier in the week by Variety, Peele’s production company Monkeypaw Productions is releasing the audio series Quiet Part Loud. The Spotify-exclusive podcast will feature 12 short-form episodes focused on a former right-wing radio host named Rick Egan (voiced by Tracy Letts) who spread false rumours about a group of Muslim teenagers who went missing in the early aftermath of 9/11. When he’s informed that one of said teens has suddenly reappeared, Egan goes on a search for answers and eventually crosses paths with a demonic, hate-feeding entity known as “The Blank” (Taran Killam).
With a premise that promises to be “a haunting parable and an unflinching examination of the current state of fear and divisiveness in America,” it makes some sense why Quiet Part Loud has wound up at Peele’s Monkeypaw banner. All three of his films, along with last year’s Candyman from Nia DaCosta, have been put under the genre of “social horror,” which focuses more directly on and augments (or attempts to) themes of race, gender, and class. Given that his company’s previous works haven’t really ever starred protagonists with a specifically political bent, it may take some folks by surprise when they hear of Quiet’s premise. However this podcast compares to the rest of Peele and Monkeypaw’s work in the space, it’s doubtful that this will be their only time delving into the medium.
Also starring Christina Hendricks and Arian Moayed, Quiet Part Loud will premiere all 12 episodes on Spotify on Tuesday, November 15. The series is directed by Mimi O’Donnell and written by Mac Rogers and Clay McLeod Chapman.
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