Tag: podcast adaptation

Binge Season 2 of the Chart-Topping Spotify Original Podcast, ‘Case 63’ Beginning September 26

September 19, 2023

If you can’t stay away from a good mind-bending time travel paradox, look no further than Case 63, the Spotify Original audio series that’s taken the world by storm. After topping the podcast charts in Chile, Brazil, and India—and landing within the top five shows in Spotify’s 2022 Wrapped—the audio thriller is back for a riveting second season. 

Case 63 stars Academy Award winner Julianne Moore (Still Alice, Boogie Nights, Far from Heaven) as Eliza Beatrix Knight and Emmy Award nominee Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight, Scenes from a Marriage, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) as Dr. Vincent Caldwell. Joining Moore and Isaac this season are Zoë Winters (Succession) who voices Marie Baker, a teenage girl whose very existence might be the key to the future, and Emmy and Tony nominee Arian Moayad (Succession, Inventing Anna) as Oliver Collins, a computer hacker with a knack for decryption, and perhaps a higher purpose to the mission.

Season two picks up in 2012—10 years earlier than the setting of the first season. Listeners will quickly find themselves consumed with worry as Eliza Beatrix Knight wakes confused in an airport with untold amounts of information about the future and the impending world-altering virus. She is hospitalized and receives treatment from a psychiatrist with a familiar voice, Dr. Caldwell. But her existence in this new reality poses more threats and questions than answers. With the future of humanity at risk, Beatrix must race to unravel her new present in order to save the future.

Fans should prepare to binge all 10 episodes of the when they land on September 26. 

Case 63 was created by Chilean screenwriter Julio Rojas and is produced by Spotify Studios, Moore’s production company FortySixty, and Isaac’s Mad Gene Media. Both Moore and Isaac serve as executive producers on the podcast. 

Case 63 season one marked the first time a Spotify Original podcast from a non-English-speaking market has been adapted into multiple languages. This highlights Spotify’s reach and underscores our commitment to bringing high-quality audio storytelling to all markets and regions around the world. 

Catch up on season one—on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts—before continuing the story.  

A áudiossérie Batman Despertar está pronta para voar mundo à fora no maior lançamento simultâneo do Spotify

April 5, 2022

Sempre que o cavaleiro das trevas retorna para limpar as impurezas do submundo de Gotham, a adrenalina é inevitável. É possível que você tenha esperado ansiosamente pela chegada de Batman Unburied (Batman Despertar, em Português), a próxima série de áudio do Spotify criada em parceria com a Warner Bros. e a DC. Para a sorte dos ouvintes, a espera está próxima do fim: Batman Despertar estreia simultaneamente em nove países, no dia 3 de maio. É isso mesmo! Junto com a versão original em Inglês, adaptações de Batman Unburied também chegarão em Português, Francês, Alemão, Hindi, Indonésio, Italiano, Japonês e Espanhol. Agora que o trailer em Inglês já está no Spotify, quem quiser espiar, pode conferir abaixo.

A estreia global de Batman Unburied vem logo após o lançamento do Spotify Os Últimos Dias de Maradona, em novembro, que estreou simultaneamente em seis mercados; e também da recente adaptação da áudiossérie chilena Caso 63 para Brasil, Índia e Estados Unidos. Batman Unburied segue o exemplo; desenvolvida e produzida pela Warner Bros; elencos e equipes de produção totalmente localizados garantirão que essa história realmente ganhe vida para os fãs de todo o mundo. Ele estreia como nosso maior lançamento simultâneo até hoje.

“Com o lançamento global de Batman Unburied, estamos empolgados em trazer a franquia icônica e o legado de Batman para nossas centenas de milhões de ouvintes em todo o mundo”, disse Dawn Ostroff, Diretora de Conteúdo e Publicidade no Spotify. “Por meio da nossa extraordinária parceria com a Warner Bros. e a DC, temos a oportunidade única de inaugurar uma nova era dos mundialmente amados Super-Heróis da DC pelo mundo do áudio, dublado por elencos de estrelas. O poder dos podcasts nunca foi tão evidente quanto com a obra-prima da paisagem sonora arrepiante de David Goyer, que conta a história transcendente do primeiro e único Bruce Wayne.”

Escrita pelo Produtor Executivo e roteirista de Batman Begins David S. Goyer, Batman Unburied nos leva a uma nova jornada nas profundezas da mente de Bruce Wayne, apresentando uma série de reviravoltas sombrias com vários super-vilões clássicos do Batman. Trabalhando como um patologista forense nas entranhas do Hospital de Gotham, o super-herói não deve apenas enfrentar seus próprios demônios mentais, mas superá-los para salvar os cidadãos de Gotham.

“David Goyer, esse elenco incrível e toda a equipe de Batman Despertar criaram uma experiência de Batman que estende o meio narrativo do podcast a novos níveis, juntamente com suas expectativas sobre o quão imersiva e convincente uma história do Batman pode ser”, disse Peter Girardi, Vice-Presidente Executivo, Programação Alternativa, Warner Bros. Animation. “Eu não poderia ter pedido uma maneira melhor de iniciar nossa parceria criativa com o Spotify.”

A nova série reúne um elenco poderoso. A versão em inglês de Batman Unburied apresenta Winston Duke como Bruce Wayne, cercado por um elenco de primeira linha que inclui Hasan Minhaj como The Riddler, Gina Rodriguez como Barbara Gordon, Jason Isaacs como Alfred e Lance Reddick como Thomas Wayne. 

Mas as adaptações globais de Batman Unburied conseguiram elencos próprios. E para o papel de Batman, eles trouxeram alguns dos melhores talentos internacionais. Esses atores incluem Rocco Pitanga (Brasil), Dali Benssalah (França), Murathan Muslu (Alemanha), Amit Sadh (Índia), Ario Bayu (Indonésia), Claudio Santamaria (Itália), Ryohei Otani (Japão) e Alfonso Herrera (México). O elenco para a adaptação em Português Batman Despertar ainda não está confirmado. 

Ainda não sabe o que fazer enquanto o Bat-Sinal não é acionado em 3 de maio? Que tal começar com este quiz para descobrir o quanto você conhece o elenco americano de Batman Unburied!?

Chart-Topping Chilean Podcast ‘Caso 63’ Gears Up for Season 2—And Announces an English-Language Adaptation

September 29, 2021

Since its release in November 2020, Spotify Original podcast Caso 63 has been topping charts and taking on new markets. The 10-episode Chilean science fiction story has become the most-listened-to scripted Original podcast in Latin America and was even adapted for Brazilian and Indian listeners as well. To continue this tale’s captivating hold, Spotify will be releasing an English-language adaptation of this story in the United States, premiering in late 2021. But perhaps the most exciting news for fans and could-be fans is that the team behind Caso 63 will be releasing a second season later this year, with creator Julio Rojas at the helm.

Season one of Caso 63 centers on the interactions between fictional psychiatrist Elisa Aldunate  and her client, “Patient 63.” Each episode marks a new “session,” and as the story progresses, time, space, and reality begin to blur. Over the course of 10 episodes, this thought-provoking mystery plays with listeners’ minds and causes them to question what is and isn’t real.

Caso 63’s popularity with listeners has helped the show reach a new milestone within podcasting: This is the first time a non-English-language Spotify Original podcast has been adapted to multiple languages. The Chilean show, which stars actors Antonia Zegers and Néstor Cantillana, received so much buzz that, less than a year after its release, Spotify adapted the thrilling mystery into a Portuguese-language version, Paciente 63, featuring Brazilian actors Seu Jorge and Mel Lisboa. And earlier this month, Spotify India created a Hindi-language adaptation of the podcast called Virus 2062, starring Bollywood actors and husband-and-wife duo Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal. Now, casting is underway for the English-language adaptation.

But even before breaking a Spotify record, its large following was also reflected in the charts with Caso 63 ranking number one on Argentina’s and Mexico’s Top Podcasts charts for nearly a month following its premiere. It also reached number one on the Trending Podcasts charts in Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, and the U.S.

Non-Spanish speaking listeners are loving the show just as much. In India, the adaptation, Virus 2062, reached number one on Spotify’s local Trending chart and landed on the top five on Spotify’s local Top Podcasts charts. The Brazilian adaptation, Paciente 63, ranked number one on Brazil’s local Trending Podcasts chart the day after it premiered and stayed there for over two weeks. It also reached the top spot on Brazil’s Fiction charts and stayed there for over a month.

Creator Rojas has long credited the show’s appeal to its format. He says the audio-only medium calls back to the way stories have been handed down for centuries, inviting listeners to fill in the blanks with their imaginations.

“The LATAM team on the ground, led by [Spotify’s] Javier Piñol, created a universal story that transported listeners into their own imaginations alongside the lead characters. The adaptations in both Brazil and India, and soon the U.S., utilized local teams and talent to reimagine the story for new audiences,” said Courtney Holt, Global Head of Podcasts and New Initiatives at Spotify. “The success we’ve seen in all the market adaptations thus far has reinforced Spotify’s mission to provide creators with the opportunity to develop stories and expose audiences worldwide to the best storytelling narratives, regardless of origin.”

Ready to tap into your imagination and start your session with Dr. Aldunate? Catch season one below. And stay tuned for the English-language adaptation of the global podcast phenomenon, coming soon.

Spotify’s ‘Sandra’ Podcast Goes Global—and Local—With ‘Sara,’ ‘Susi,’ ‘Sonia,’ and ‘Sofia’ Debuting in France, Germany, Mexico, and Brazil

July 6, 2020

In April 2018, Gimlet (now a Spotify company) launched Sandra, a seven-part fictional drama depicting a world where artificial intelligence isn’t so artificial. With big names (and voices) like Alia Shawkat (Helen), Kristin Wiig (Sandra), and Ethan Hawke (Dustin), the show launched to critical acclaim. And due to its relevant themes of technology, security, and self-actualization, Spotify deemed it a story worth telling listeners around the world. 

So on Tuesday, July 7, Spotify and Gimlet will premiere an exclusive localized version of the Sandra podcast in four markets: France, Germany, Brazil, and Mexico. The show has not only been translated into each local language—it’s also been specially adapted via a culturally relevant name (Sara in France, Susi in Germany, Sonia in Mexico, and Sofia in Brazil), a customized storyline, and more.

Other podcasts have been translated, but these Sandra adaptations will be the first truly localized adaptations ever made of a hit fictional podcast. The Spotify Studios teams in France, Germany, Brazil, and Mexico have worked with local directors to adapt the script, cast local talent, and reimagine the podcast with an appreciation for local culture, language, and nuance. In each market, the podcast has an A-list cast mixed with traditional TV and film actors as well as digital creators and influencers. 

Take a look at the names behind each market’s version and the unique spin the creators have taken to make it their own.

France — Sara

  • Starring Virginie Efira as Sara (Sandra), Natoo as Helen, and Stéphane De Groodt as Dustin
  • Biggest change for Sara: “The geographical localization of the story is a change which required a lot of thinking. We needed to find the French equivalent of Helen’s hometown, a small city with little perspective and excitement. But it also needed to fit the story’s actions in a realistic manner. Which French city is close enough to a prison so that you can go and come back in a day as Helen does when she visits her husband? This is how Guymon became Ruffec, in the French region of Charentes.” – Claire Hazan, Head of Studios, France & Benelux
  • Biggest challenge for Sara: “Keeping the original rhythm and dynamic of a scene is something that can be tricky when changing languages. The words can be longer or shorter, they can impact how a sentence feels, the duration of a whole scene and, in the end, the pace of the story. We chose to work with a production studio who developed a very specific creative response to that issue. They created a tool which synchronizes the soundwave of the original English-speaking audio and the words in French. It has greatly helped our actors to find the right tone and rhythm for their acting.” – Claire Hazan, Head of Studios, France & Benelux

Germany – Susi

  • Starring Martina Hill as Susi (Sandra), Almila Bagriacik as Sara (Helen), and Bastian Pastewka as Jens (Dustin)
  • Biggest change for Susi: “All the little details that will make it authentic to the German audience. For example, the big change is in where the story is set and things you can hear in the background—watch out for the TV program in one scene.” – Saruul Krause-Jentsch, Spotify Head of Studios Germany
  • Biggest challenge for Susi: “We ended up casting quite big names even for the smallest roles which, obviously, made scheduling and recording difficult from time to time. But after hearing the result, that was all worth it.” – Saruul Krause-Jentsch, Spotify Head of Studios Germany

Mexico – Sonia

Brazil – Sofia

  • Biggest change for Sonia and Sofia: “This is our first podcast project on a global scale on Spotify. Our expectations are high with Sonia in Mexico and Sofia in Brazil.” – Javier Piñol, Head of Spotify Studios in Latin America and U.S. LatinX audiences
  • Biggest challenge for Sonia and Sofia: “Our main challenge when it comes to adapting a global project is that it doesn’t always allow you to introduce some local tones and nuances, but when we decided that Sandra would go global, we agreed on one common goal: to adapt it to the local culture. And that’s exactly what we did by having a local production and casting these talents. The result couldn’t be better.” – Javier Piñol, Head of Spotify Studios in Latin America and U.S. LatinX audiences

The Sandra adaptation marks a podcasting milestone across the world. “Spotify is uniquely positioned to grow podcasting globally, but we know our customers also want authentic local programming,” says Courtney Holt, Global Head of Studios and Video, Spotify. “Adapting Sandra is a great example of that. By thinking and programming locally, and using our creative teams on the ground in each market, we’re able to develop a show that feels like a German, or French, or Mexican, or Brazilian podcast, rather than a translation. Sandra was also Gimlet’s first scripted podcast when it launched in 2018. The fact that podcasting, and specifically Sandra, has drawn such a group of A-List talent in each market is also a great endorsement of the medium growing at a global scale.”

Missed out on the original? Stream Sandra below.