This Sounds Serious


This Sounds Serious is a Castbox original fictional, comedic true crime podcast that debuted on April 1st, 2018. The podcast, now in its second season, is a "parody anthology of sorts" that follows a different fake, satirical crime every season through investigative radio journalist Gwen Radford.
Created and produced by Kelly & Kelly, an award-winning studio founded by Chris Kelly and Pat Kelly, the podcast was rated by Apple Podcasts as one of the 'Best Podcasts of 2018'.

Content

The podcast pays homage to true crime storytelling through its use of familiar styles, tones and tropes of popular crime podcasts and Netflix documentaries.

Season 1: ''The Case of Chuck Bronstadt''

In Season 1, Gwen tackles the complicated and bizarre story of Chuck Bronstadt, a famous local weather man in Florida that was found dead in his water bed.

Season 2: ''Missing Melissa''

Gwen searches for Melissa Turner, the country’s most missing person, who has disappeared under extremely strange circumstances. Meanwhile, 400 miles away, Jimmy Kline is staging the longest bank robbery in Oregon history. In this second season, Gwen spots a connection between these two seemingly isolated incidents-- uncovering a mystery that appears to end in murder.

In the Media

In 2018, of New York magazine, recommended that This Sounds Serious be added to the top of summer podcast binge list. Vulture further described the production team of Kelly & Kelly as "really an ear for parody". Sarah Berman of Vice commended the for "blending absurd and believable in their own strange and Canadian way". While Sarah Griffin of The Irish Times praised the authenticity of This Sounds Serious production, citing its convincing archival footage, "earnest" and "committed" performances by cast members, "considered audio design" and its "subtle soundscape". Exclaim Magazine further praised This Sounds Serious, stating that "the creators nail every nuance of this genre. It got so real, some people honestly thought this ridiculous story was true."
In 2019, IndieWire reported on This Sounds Serious, as part of Podcast Week-- a week dedicated to taking a deeper look at some of the best podcasts of 2019. Steve Greene of IndieWire praised This Sounds Serious for getting "about as close to the "real thing" as a scripted series can get", stating that "none of those shows have tapped into the sounds and rhythms of true crime quite like This Sounds Serious".