The creators of The Thrilling Adventure Hour proudly call it “fake radio.” It’s less an homage to old-time radio and more of a clever update. A live monthly performance at Largo, a 200-seat, scruffy-chic Hollywood nightclub is also available as a popular podcast through Nerdist.
Where many podcasts might be described as hastily assembled, rudderless fishing pontoons, Thrilling Adventure Hour is a showboat.
How a labor of love about an old-fashioned radio show with guest stars like Nathan Fillion and Neil Patrick Harris built an Internet-fueled fandom (which includes “Buffy,” “Lost” and “Fringe” alums).
Attend the recording sessions, which are held at Largo at the Coronet, and you can also witness the comedic rapport among the Workjuice Players, the versatility of the Andy Paley Orchestra, and the segments in between (usually fake commercials) that rarely make it to the Web.
A self-proclaimed “new-time podcast in the style of old-time radio,” the show is ever-gaining in popularity and expanding into media beyond its live show roots.
Fearless superheroes battling feathered evildoers, male Martians having their egg sacs (!) violated by their disgusted compadres, and pint-sized sidekicks being brainwashed by Nazi vamps to assassinate President Roosevelt, all in an evening’s entertainment for the intrepid cast of the Thrilling Adventure Hour series.
The Thrilling Adventure Hour operates on a can’t-miss premise: Comedic takes on pulpy serials from the Golden Age of radio, starring Los Angeles comedy vets (Paul F. Tompkins, Craig Cackowski), Hollywood ringers (Busy Philipps, Paget Brewster), versatile voiceover talent (James Urbaniak, John DiMaggio), and an eager stable of marquee guests.
Personally, I like my laughs served up with a heaping side of robot Martian fist-fights and martini-powered mummy tussles. Ben Acker and Ben Blacker launched this humor-filled love letter to yesteryear’s serial radio shows in Los Angeles in 2005. It has since manifested itself into a popular ongoing stage show and podcast.
‘Thrilling Adventure Hour’ Cast Members Interview
Uh oh! It looks like actor extraordinaire Marc Evan Jackson from The Thrilling Adventure Hour has his second visit to Comedy Bang! Bang! cut short as a portal appears in the Earwolf studio and has transported some of the characters from The Thrilling Adventure into the real world. How will Scott & Marc deal with these multidimensional beings? Tune in to find out!
