RETURN OF THE LIVING BLONDES

What if you made a podcast series about a fictional pandemic and then a real pandemic happened?

In the summer of 2019 we adapted Emily’s cult novel about a hair-based virus, The Blondes, into a scripted podcast. Starring Madeline Zima, Yvonne Zima, Rob Belushi, Helen Hong, and Bree Elrod, the podcast was a moderate hit for the then-new medium. A few months later the world plunged into the Covid lockdown and things got weird from there.

To mark the fifth-ish anniversary we remastered the original episodes and got together in front of a mic to talk about The Blondes’ strange journey from satire to the uncanny.

You can listen to this talk below, and all the remastered episodes on iTunes, Spotify, or on Youtube.

We discuss what happened along the way, what we got right about pandemics, and what we got wrong. We share how the series ended up a worldwide hit, what the French don't find funny, and the craziest thing ever said by a network executive. We also talk about why a DIY ethic work matters and give an update on the future of The Blondes.