It was so popular last year that we decided to do it again! Join us this holiday season as we introduce you to twelve of our favourite podcasts in the 12 Days of Podmas.
Despite never sharing a scene in the long running hit show Supernatural, Rob Benedict (who played Chuck/God) and Richard Speight Jr. (who played the archangel Gabriel) have been firm friends now for years thanks to the show’s convention circuit. It was their shared experience of co-hosting the Salute to Supernatural conventions, organised by Creation Entertainment, that led to them creating Kings of Con.
Kings of Con was a ten part web series, a fictionalised version of Benedict and Speight Jr’s lives on the road, and was frequented by a number of fellow Supernatural cast members. Sadly the show wasn’t picked up for a second season, to the lament of fans, but it certainly wasn’t the end of Benedict and Speight’s creative endeavours.
READ MORE: Athletico Mince – 12 Days of Podmas
Like the rest of us, the two of them found themselves locked down in their respective homes at the start of this year due to COVID-19, but rather than let that stifle their creativity they came together, virtually, to entertain us with a podcast called And My Guest Is Richard Speight. The format was simple, it was the two of them talking on the telephone about this and that, with the occasional interruptions from Speight’s family members. The podcast was a much needed balm in the uncertain earlier months of 2020.
Fast forward to August and fans were left surprised that the show – as they knew it – was coming to an end. But all was not lost. The show would be reinvented as Kings of Con: The Podcast and rather than it just being Rob and Rich waxing lyrical, they would be welcoming guests and bringing in a producer to attempt to keep things under control.
READ MORE: Survivor Ballads: Three Films By Shohei Imamura – Blu-ray Review
The witty banter is still there; the friendship that these two have is evident in every show they put out, and their range of showbiz experience has meant that guests have not just been from Supernatural. Guests so far have included the likes of Tom Ellis (Lucifer), Michael Cudlitz (The Walking Dead), Kurt Fuller (Evil) and Jensen Ackles (Supernatural).
Instead of a structured talk show it feels more like a conversation amongst friends that we, as the listeners, are welcomed to be a part of. Rob is still put on the spot regularly by Rich coming up with songs Rob needs to sing, something the guests have picked up on as well, and we still have visits from the rest of the Speight clan. It’s an intimate and very fun podcast that doesn’t take itself too seriously and it has helped make this year a little more bearable.