Emmy-winning actor, director, producer and activist Kerry Washington is diving into audio programming in a new partnership with Audible. As per Variety, under the pact, Simpson Street Productions, led by Washington and EVP and Oscar-nominated producer Pilar Savone will develop and produce three scripted audio productions exclusively for Audible.
The first of the three podcasts from Simpson Street is the supernatural thriller ‘Prophecy’ — with Washington set to star — launching later in 2022. It will be followed by the romantic comedy ‘Between Me and You’ and the drama ‘The Last Black Queen’. Washington and Simpson Street will serve as executive producers on all of the audio projects.
Washington spoke about the deal and said, “Our focus at Simpson Street is to weave together narratives that honour our unique differences while connecting us through shared humanity.”
She added, “Expanding into the podcast space, especially with Audible, is a phenomenal opportunity to engage in storytelling across multiple mediums. We could not be more excited!”
In ‘Prophecy’, when a series of unexplainable events happen simultaneously around the world, three individuals — Virginia (Washington), a hydrologist; Daniel, a British zoo veterinarian; and Jonah, a commercial diver — find themselves at the head of each phenomena.
As they fight for survival, they soon realize they are all connected in contemporary Biblical reimaginings of the stories of the Virgin Mary, Daniel in the Lions’ Den and Jonah and the Whale.
Created, written and directed by Randy McKinnon, ‘Prophecy’ is an eight-episode audio series produced in collaboration with premium content studio and network QCode. ‘Prophecy’ is expected to premiere in the second half of 2022.
Simpson Street’s ‘Between Me and You’ podcast for Audible is created by bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch and Pete Chiarelli and is based on Scotch’s novel of the same name.
The eight-episode scripted romcom podcast, told in a nonlinear fashion, follows a couple who fell in love a decade earlier just out of college. But Tatum and Ben now find their relationship at a breaking point as they ask themselves: Is it possible to forgive and forget?
‘The Last Black Queen’, created by Darnell Brown, provides an intimate look inside the mind of Maya Foster: a middle-aged, mid-level professional carrying the superhuman weight of expectation that Black women shoulder every day, ignoring her own desires for a more exciting, meaningful life. That’s until she meets Aime — a mysterious and seductive young woman who unleashes a sexual awakening in Maya that threatens to destroy her marriage, job and any semblance of her former existence.
Each episode will give listeners a perspective from Maya’s colourful view of the world through unique audio devices, dream sequences and the occasional musical number. The deal with Washington comes after Audible has in recent months signed exclusive podcast deals with Elizabeth Banks, Queen Latifah, Lena Waithe, Laura Dern, Kenya Barris, Kevin Hart, Charlamagne Tha God and Rachel Brosnahan. (ANI)