Sected - my new British audio sitcom

 

podcast cover image

Failed projects

Back in 2011 I wrote my first ever radio sitcom called Flat Three. It was about three dysfunctional 20-somethings squatting in a tower block. I drafted one episode and submitted it to the BBC. It got rejected. There was a comment about it being funny, but it wasn't something the BBC believed their audience would be interested in.    

In 2017 I wrote a standalone radio play called Local Patch. It was an off-beat comedy about a vegetable growing competition. I submitted it to the BBC and got the same response; funny, but not interesting to the BBC target audience.

So I thought I'd produce my own. In 2021 I finished my final drafts of six, 45minute long episodes for a audio sitcom called Reputation Mismanagement. I had the money to self-produce it and a talented actor base to work with. It was cast and the studio booked. It was so far along the process that I even commissioned a theme tune.

Then it all fell through. 

We couldn't arrange enough rehearsal time. People didn't seem that keen to dedicate the time to do it. Which is fine, it was all unpaid. In hindsight, the project was too big. The principle cast size of eight was too large for any amateur production, let alone my fist ever radio production.

I learned a lot. Both from the writing side and project scope. 

Sected

That's when I wrote Sected; a radio sitcom about four incompetent souls trying to start their own cult.

I kept it simple this time. Six 20 minute episodes with a cast size of four. I started writing it in April 2023. By September we were in the recording studio.

Me and the cast of Sected in the recording studio.

I funded the project myself. Budgets were small, but I wanted to ensure the cast would be paid for their time and talent. They deserved more, but it's all I could afford.

I knew nothing about radio production and learned a lot on the job. I'm extremely proud of what we produced. My previous radio comedies didn't get off the ground. But with every failed project, you learn and put that knowledge into your next one.

Sected is being released on podcast from November 9th, with a new episode each week until December 14th.

Sected Trailer

You can listen to the trailer for series 1 here:

To listen to the show on your podcast player of choice, see the offical site:

sectedpodcast.co.uk