The 'Bodkin' Trailer is a Podcaster's Nightmare

You don't have to be in the entertainment industry to realize that creating television can be an odd business. This has been especially true since 2013, when the streaming revolution caused executives to lose their collective heads and blow up a model that had been working for 50 years to chase one that hadn't yet turned a profit. You also don't have to be an American to realize our system of government is a bit wonky, in that a human can reach the pinnacle of power as leader of the free world at the age of 46; and then find themselves completely at loose ends eight years later. However, when Barack and Michelle Obama announced they were getting into the business of producing television, the assumption was they'd be making American shows about serious American issues for American audiences. Instead, we have... Bodkin.

You must forgive us for not noticing Bodkin previously; like most people, the production credits caused us to dismiss it without looking closely. After all, the former president of the United States isn't about to be producing a series for a niche entertainment site dedicated to Anglophilic shows set across the pond, right? LOL, wrong. Bodkin is, in fact, a series that would be more at home on BritBox than it would be on Netflix. Led by Siobhán Cullen, best known as the star of the ITV/RTÉ series The Dry, Bodkin is set in a small coastal town in Ireland, where a group of strugglebus podcasters in search of a hit find themselves poking about in hopes of turning up a Serial style story.

However, the more they dig into the mystery hidden beneath the quaint Irish scenery and behind accents so thick they warrant constant subtitles, the weirder the answers get. Almost as weird as this series being a product of a former president's production company.

Here's the series synopsis:

Bodkin is a dark comedic thriller about a motley crew of podcasters who set out to investigate the mysterious disappearance of three strangers in a quaint, coastal Irish town. But once they start pulling at threads, they discover a story much bigger and weirder than they could have ever imagined. As our heroes try to discern fact from fiction — about the case, about their colleagues, and, most painfully, themselves — the series challenges our perception of truth and exposes the stories we tell ourselves to justify our beliefs or validate our fears. 

Cullen stars as podcaster Dove, alongside Robyn Cara (Trying), Chris Walley (Bloodlands), Kerri McLean (Poldark), David Wilmot (The Crown), Peter Bankolé (D.I. Ray), Seán Óg Cairns (The Lodge), David Pearse (Dalgliesh), and token American Will Forte (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story). 

Jez Scharf created, wrote, and was co-showrunner on the series, with Alex Metcalf as the other showrunner who also worked as co-writer. Other credited co-writers include Oneika Barrett, Paddy Campbell, Megan Mostyn-Brown, Mike O'Leary, and Ursula Rani Sarma. The seven-episode series was helmed by lead director Bronwen Hughes with Johnny Allan, Paddy Breathnach, and Nash Edgerton also taking on episodes. Scharf, Metcalf, and Edgerton also have executive producer credits alongside David Flynn and Paul Lee for wiip, Tonia Davis, Barack and Michelle Obama for High Ground Productions, and Nne Ebong for Netflix.

Bodkin debuts with all seven episodes on Netflix on Thursday, May 9, 2024.