THE TREES SWALLOW PEOPLE & RESTART, + 2 season finales, and 1 new season coming soon!

Greetings, and welcome to The End Last Week, This Week, and Next Week, the podcast companion to The End, the newsletter and listener-focused directory that shines a light back on audio fiction shows after they've reached the finale of a season or the conclusion of the series. I am your host and the curator of The End, Evo Terra.

Before we begin, I need to give a quick and heartfelt shout-out to to Marc Langston for signing up his production company, Nocturn Hall, as a Supporting Creative Shop. You'll hear more about them and their show, Dupont Investigations, in the coming weeks. And another huge shout-out is due to Jon Rolfe, because he also signed up his production company, Cryptic Radio, as a Supporting Creative Shop. More is coming from them quite soon as well.

Seriously, Mark and Jon, thank you for your support. It means the world to me, especially after I just shelled out nearly $8K for tomorrow’s procedure to remove another kidney stone. Ah, the joys of US healthcare.

You can support my efforts on The End like Marc and Jon did by visiting TheEnd.fyi/support.

And now, let’s get into it, shall we?

Last Week

The most recent issue of The End—the 72nd—highlighted five shows in either the Recently Completed Series or Recent Season Finales sections... and two of them wrapped in the last few days.

• 😯😭☠️ • Atwood Manor, a dramatized murder mystery series from HellRose Productions that is created and performed by majority queer artists, posted the Season 1 finale on January 15th. You can listen to the 10 current episodes in about three hours.
• 🛒📼🦃 • Supermarket, a dramatized comedy/sitcom series from 911 Podcasts made with a range of ethnic and LGBT cast and crew members, posted the Season 1 finale on the 12th of January. Listen to the 6 current episodes in three and a half hours.
• And be sure to listen to the end of the audio file to hear trailers or snippets for these shows.

This Week

With every issue, I make two recommendations for great audio fiction I personally love. As with all things in life, YMMV.

• 😱😥💀 • My first recommendation is The Trees Swallow People, a narrated horror series with music from Conor Matthews. Yes, it's narrated. But it's also soundscaped, with some subtle—and some not-so-subtle—sound effects to enhance the experience. Caution: The narrator's voice is extremely soothing. I'm not saying you'll fall asleep listening if you're stoned, but it can happen. Here’s the trailer: [trailer plays] The Trees Swallow People is complete with a single season of 24 episodes. You can listen to it all in about six and a half hours.
• 🎮🚔🫢 • My next recommendation is Restart, a dramatized thriller from BBC Sounds and the makers of The Cipher, starring Armin Karima of Sex Education. I find conversion therapy abhorrent, and this fictional account drives that home even more. And this show sounds great, with exceptional actors and production. It's a winner! Here’s the trailer: [trailer plays] There’s just one season with a satisfying ending (says me) currently to Restart. Enjoy all 8 episodes in about four and a half hours.

Next Week

The latest issue of The End has four entries in the New Seasons Coming Soon section, and one of them starts up again in the next few days.

Season 2 of Sci-Ops Nova, a narrated scifi series from Jedi Reach & Antoni Media Productions, starts on 20 Jan 2024. Catch up with the current 12 episodes in about two and a half hours.

And as a reminder, trailers or snippets for that show and the two ...