Hi folks,
Wishing you the very best for the coming week from everyone at Rusty Towers!
This week in the penultimate episode of Rez High, Reflex explores the game’s accessibility settings. Meanwhile Jo-C has an argument while trying to find out more about History. As always, the new episode will be available in early access on Wednesday at 4pm BST and on the public Neon Inkwell feed on Friday at 4pm BST. As a quick reminder, The Magnus Protocol is now releasing every two weeks, so there won’t be a new episode this week.
In news from the RQ Network, this week we have an exclusive interview with Athan, one of the creators of REDACTED ahead of an upcoming episode featuring Magnus’ very own Jonathan Sims. REDACTED is created by Athan (The Grotto) and Jamie Petronis (The Cellar Letters).
For new listeners, what's REDACTED about?
REDACTED is our Monster of the Week horror comedy about struggling actor Jacob Kane who, desperate for a fresh start, assumes the identity of his deceased twin, Jordan. Expecting a simple accounting job, he instead finds himself accidentally in an underfunded secret government agency called THE REDACTED UNIT, tasked with discreetly handling bizarre and often dangerous paranormal cases. As Jacob settles into his role, he begins to unravel the unsettling truths around his brother’s death. What begins as an act of reinvention slowly becomes a desperate descent into a treacherous web of paranormal forces, secret agendas, and moral compromise.
The TRU team cast is incredible, you can view the whole team at theredactedunit.com/cast !
Tell us how REDACTED has grown and developed?
A ton! When I had initially messaged Jamie to collaborate on REDACTED, the original plan was to do a 4 episode mini-series. During our discussions, we quickly realized this was something we wanted to do for significantly more than 4 episodes. It's also been incredible to be able to do guest written episodes with some amazing writers, and there are still many more to come!
Why do you think your show resonates with so many listeners?
One thing we always wanted to do was make REDACTED approachable for a broader audience - I think the audio drama community is incredible, but whenever I explain it to my mom she's super confused. When I explained REDACTED to her, she said, "Oh, it's like X-Files!" - that's about when we realized we might have something people would be interested in. I distinctly remember describing The Grotto to folks at an event and you could see their eyes roll into the back of their skull. Then I said "Oh, but we're working on this other show..." and when I described the core plot for REDACTED, they got it (we weren't even working on REDACTED yet).
Tell us about the exciting spin-off and ancillary content?
On the distant horizon is CORRUPTED, our horror anthology in the REDACTED world. It's canon to the show but lets us do some darker episodes disconnected from the team. REDACTED is fun to write, but we keep having these ideas that just don't work in the tone of the show, so we're excited to make some episodes that are a bit more intense than a conventional episode of REDACTED. The cast for CORRUPTED is also incredible (Xalavier Nelson Jr, Mike LeBeau, etc) - we'll have a full cast announcement soon for y'all to see!What's an upcoming episode of REDACTED you're excited about?We have one of our first episode concepts releasing on the 23rd. This one features a character who will reappear as the show progresses, and I think the audience will find it incredibly unsettling. We're also excited to announce this episode will feature the voice of Jonny Sims, who you mayyyy know from The Magnus Archives. It's been an absolute pleasure working with him, and without saying more I think it'll be a fun one.
Anything you want to say to your listeners/closing words?
We really just want to thank you so much for listening to REDACTED. It's been an incredible ride. We started working on this in late 2024, and it's wild to think it's already been a year since we finished the crowdfund. We're also coming up on the one-year anniversary of launch! If you're enjoying REDACTED, feel free to hop into our Discord and say hi (http://tru.show/discord). We just hit 1000+ members, so there's plenty to talk about! Also love seeing all the fan theories, art, etc on social media, so definitely feel free to keep sending that our way!
You can listen to REDACTED wherever you find podcasts, by going to the REDACTED website or on the Rusty Quill website. If you enjoy the show, please consider leaving a rating or a review, as this is the best way to support your favourite shows.
Have a good week all!
The Rusty Quill team
P.S. Psst… if you’re attending the San Diego Comic Con on Thursday, July 23, you have the chance to pick up an Advance Reader Copy of From the Library of Jurgen Leitner and read the whole book before anyone else! To get your copy, head to the Penguin Random House stand and search for someone wearing Knock Thrice’s “Strange Music” t-shirt. Once you’ve found them, you just need to tell them the secret passcode: “Statement of Hugh Franklin, regarding his employment by Jurgen Leitner” to get your free book (while stocks last). Happy reading!