The Blondes

What if you made a podcast series about a fictional pandemic and then a real pandemic happened? In 2019 Brian J Davis and Emily Schultz adapted her hit novel, The Blondes, into a podcast. A few months later the world plunged into the Covid lockdown and things got weird from there. To mark the fifth anniversary and the release of these remastered episodes, Brian and Emily discuss what happened along the way, what they got right about pandemics, and what they got wrong. They 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. They also talk about why a DIY ethic work matters and give an update on the future of The Blondes.

In this new scripted podcast from the creators of The Blondes, the wolves aren’t just on Wall Street anymore. Releasing March 16, 2021, The Bite is a 4-episode horror comedy series that follows Tess, a young Brooklyn playwright, who awkwardly stumbles into joining a wealthy all-female werewolf pack in the Hamptons. The Bite stars Cecilia Corrigan, Jenny Grace Makholm, with Roberta Colindrez (Starz’s Vida), Rob Belushi (HBO’s Ballers), Ronald Peet (Netflix’s I-Land), Bree Elrod (Sean Baker’s Red Rocket), Grace C. Williams (Lena Waithe’s Rising) More info at thebitecast.com

Listen to highlights from season one of The Blondes. 

This season's final episode begins with Frieda Wells' tearful apology for the Lux Festival. Then, Broad Strokes returns with a special guest who reveals a secret that will leave us rethinking everything we know about the virus, and gender. Written by Brian J Davis and Emily Schultz. Directed by Brian J Davis. Cast: Madeline Zima, Helen Hong, Yvonne Zima, Dana Berger, Jenny Grace, Carson Elrod, Bree Elrod, and Cecilia Corrigan.

In this aftershow episode, creators Emily Schultz and Brian J Davis discuss the origins of Schultz’s novel, the pitfalls and discoveries of development,  and how they adapted The Blondes for a mockumentary format. Warning: spoilers!

Now remastered! Broad Strokes continues its history of SHV and Hazel, who, through her recordings, talks about life in a deteriorating quarantine. Her final recording ends when she's forced to rescue a friend from the much feared "Room Three." With Hazel's fate in limbo we also meet Broad Strokes' new sponsor, the actress and wellness guru Frieda Wells, who has turned from selling questionable cures to hosting the Lux Festival in the Virgin Isles for "Blondefluencers." Written by Brian J Davis and Emily Schultz. Directed by Brian J Davis. Cast: Madeline Zima, Helen Hong, Yvonne Zima, Dana Berger, Jenny Grace, Carson Elrod, and Bree Elrod.

Now remastered! Bowing to pressure from the underbelly of Reddit and Youtube, Broad Strokes' spot is taken over this week by a fringe media personality who has a very different take on Hazel Hayes and the quarantine. Tim K Rylander is convinced she's more of a part of SHV's story than we knew before. We also meet Wanda Kovacs, Hazel's former thesis advisor, who gives a TED Talk on what blonde means for the patriarchy and capitalism after the virus. By episode's end we also suspect the virus has mutated. Written by Brian J Davis & Emily Schultz, Cecilia Corrigan. Directed by Duncan Birmingham. Cast: Madeline Zima, Rob Belushi, Cecilia Corrigan, Rebecca Kush, and Carson Elrod.

Now remastered! Jennifer Lim hosts Broad Strokes, a podcast that is investigating the story of Hazel Hayes and SHV, also known as the Blonde Rabies. In this episode the escalation of the outbreak among blonde women, both natural and bleached, is explained, as well as the spread of misinformation in the media. We first meet Hazel through "The Hazel Tapes," the recordings she made telling how she went from a pregnant grad student in New York to being forcefully quarantined. The show's sponsor is Glesumax, the makers of the only treatment for SHV, which calls into question the show's journalistic independence. Written by Brian J Davis and Emily Schultz. Directed by Jenny Grace. Cast: Madeline Zima, Helen Hong, Dana Berger, Jenny Grace, Carson Elrod, Bree Elrod, and Rebecca Kush.

Madeline Zima (Twin Peaks), Helen Hong (Inside Llewyn Davis), and Rob Belushi (How I Met Your Mother) star in this podcast adaptation of Emily Schultz’s satirical, sci-fi horror novel, The Blondes. Set two years after a virus has infected blonde women with a rabies-like illness, a fictional podcast examines how the virus has changed our culture: from fashionable new fever bracelets, to empowerment pop songs for the infected, to an entirely new understanding of women, gender, and beauty. What begins as the story of Hazel Hayes — the unlikely, eight-months-pregnant hero who reveals government abuses at virus evaluation centers — turns much thornier when her personal life and role in the outbreak becomes grist for conspiracy theorists. Angry, funny, and with dark turns into body horror, The Blondes is an unflinching look at media and viral ideas, illness and profit, and what happens when beauty becomes, literally, deadly. Starring: Madeline Zima, Helen Hong, Rob Belushi, Cecilia Corrigan, Yvonne Zima, Dana Berger, Jenny Grace, Carson Elrod, and Bree Elrod. Written by Brian J Davis and Emily Schultz. Duncan Birmingham (IFC’s MARON) is Executive Producer and Jenny Grace, Consulting Producer. Music for the series composed by Oldfather, and songs by Dawn Lewis and Michael Hussey.