Announcing The Harbingers
Newsletter #012
Hello Chaos Nation!
It’s been a busy few days over here at Gabriel HQ. But now that Hit Singles has officially been out for a beat, we can maybe slow things down for a while, right?
… yeah, I think you all know where I’m going with this. It’s time to talk about the new New Thing!
(As always, if you want to subscribe to this newsletter, letting it know where you live so that it can surprise you when you’re at your most vulnerable and least expect it, you can do so with this nice orange button! Let some controlled chaos into your life!)
Now on with the big news!
The New New Thing
Okay, story time:
Last winter, I found myself at a lake house in Michigan. I’d been summoned there by two of the empyrean powers of podcasting - a.k.a. my good friends Jeffrey Gardner and Eleanor Hyde. We were discussing work we’d done in the past, and work we might do together in the not-too-distant future. It was fun, and playful, and creatively energizing like few things I’ve ever done.
Then, on the last full day I was there, Eleanor and Jeffrey asked: what if we made a show together? What if you could make a new long-running series right now? Any ideas?
There, among the snowy shores of a partially frozen lake, a fuse got lit…
Today we’re unveiling where the fuse led to. A new series I’ve created, and which I’m making in collaboration with Audacious Machine Creative. It’s called The Harbingers.
HARBINGER: (noun) har•bin•ger /ˈhärbənjər/
something that foreshadows a future event : something that gives an anticipatory sign of what is to come
one that initiates a major change : a person or thing that originates or helps open up a new activity, method, or technology; a pioneer
We’re announcing the show today because this year’s Official Selections for the audio portion of the Tribeca Festival went out today! And, umm, we’re part of said selection! Our pilot episode will have its world premiere at the festival this June, which still feels like a very surreal thing to type out. An auspicious beginning for my next long-running series.
And it will be long-running. At the moment, we are talking outlines and budgets and time tables for the first season, which we hope will begin later this year. And gang, it’s ambitious. A big sprawling story, told over more episodes than anything I’ve done since the days of Wolf 359’s mammoth third and fourth seasons!
But okay, okay, what the heck is this new show even about? Good question! Here’s the basics:
In the wake of a world-altering magic incident, the only two living magicians wrestle with how we got here and what happens next.
When Adam Blackwell and Amy Stirling met, they immediately clashed. They were both grad students studying a long dead language, academic rivals, and brief paramours - though they’d really prefer if everyone forgot about that last thing, thank you very much. Then they became the only people in the world capable of doing magic. Over the course of the next five years, they became global superstars, objects of adoration, scrutiny, and fear.
Until one day, Amy goads Adam into doing something incredible and terrible. The world's only two magicians are inextricably linked and now have to answer some difficult questions. Is this the right way to use this power? Have they done irreparable damage to the world? And above everything else, what are they going to do next?
That’s the gist of it - magic and the modern world and lovers-to-rivals-to-lovers-again-maybe all smashed together in a big, messy cauldron. A new meditation on a world that feels like its ending and what it takes to stop that. In terms of comparisons, imagine a version of Strange and Norrell that was happening in the modern day. Or Hamilton but with magic powers instead of music. Or Unseen if it was crossed with Zero Hours. (God, it’s scary to be able to do that with my own shows.)
There’ll be a lot more to say about this show, but… god, for now I’m just really excited. Excited to be making a new thing. Excited to have a new long-running show in the works. Excited to be creating a new show with Eleanor and Jeffrey. Excited to be going back to Tribeca with this. (If you’ll be around, come by and say hi!) Just very excited, really.
While I’ve been writing this issue of the newsletter, I’ve been listening to my playlist for The Harbingers on shuffle. (Because of course there’s a playlist.) The three most recent tracks have been Time to Pretend, Paramore’s Idle Worship, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Burning. That about sums the series up, really: big and messy and larger than life and slightly on fire. But really amazing.
Just you wait. Just you wait.
Two Weeks of Hit Singles
But no waiting necessary for Hit Singles, my latest and greatest audio fiction series! As of today, it’s been out for two weeks.
I gushed about it plenty over in the last newsletter, so I don’t want to rehash myself too much here. If this is the first you’re hearing about it, it’s an audio fiction rom com series all about love, friendship, trying to make it big in a BIG city, and the magical things that happen when you love a song too much. All my personal favorites, really. You can listen to all 12 episodes of it over on Audible right now.
I just finished my latest re-listen through it today. Even after listening to it 373 times in post, I still love going through it. The cast is that good. The sound design that Zach did on it is that good. The music we were able to license and which our composer Jeremy Warmsely wrote for us is that good. It’s just that good. Honestly… I think it might be the best thing I’ve ever worked on.
But don’t just take my word for it! Here’s what some of the best and brightest in the world of audio fiction have said about it!
(Thanks, friends - you sure know how to make an exhausted creator tear up!)
Out of all of these, it’s David’s comments that most got to me. Getting to make this series with Audible really did feel like smuggling a little indie audio fiction series from the mid 2010’s into their walled-off garden. I know that, for many people, Audible isn't where they go for their audio fiction. I certainly don't think they’re a perfect company by any stretch of the imagination... but with this show, I think they made something the right way.
They gave a shot to a producing team with ten plus years experience making audio fiction. They took a chance on a 100% original IP. When we went, "We want a twelve episode season, and we want each to be a proper episode, with their own title and story and everything," they said, "You're the experts."
When we insisted on having a writer's room, they supported us. When we said, "Let's hire Octavia Bray and Ellen Winter for said room, two of the best in the world of audio fiction," nobody blinked or asked who they were or suggested this great writer from the world of TV. Instead: "You're the experts."
When we wrote a big, challenging show, which touched upon matters of love, identity, sexuality, faith and a ton of other big thorny things, nobody freaked out. When I started talking about writing an episode that goes backwards - a pretty out there thing even by my standards! - they let me prove that it would work.
When we found Evangeline, Nick, Simone, Julia, and Briggon, our amazing leads, they let us put this dream team together. When we wanted to work with Noah and Mary Kate and Avery and all these other brilliant people we've collected over our years in podcasting, they supported it. They let us follow the vision.
As of this writing, Hit Singles has 143 ratings on the platform, almost all of them 5/5. I'd love to double that number. To triple it. To get thousands of ratings for this show. To send the powers that be a message:
This works.
What you did here? The way you brought experienced creators in and let them make their show? Do it again. Trust fiction podcasting creators to make a good show for you. Because I want the opportunities that we got here to reach other creators. I want Audible to invest in more independent creators' visions, and empower them to make shows they can't make on their own.
Which is why this week we brought back some old friends to let people know about the series. If you’re subscribed to any of our previous shows’ feeds, you’ll find little messages and skits from the characters of those shows, telling you why you should try out Hit Singles.
Over at Wolf 359, Eiffel and Hilbert talk about the morale-boosting properties of a good romantic comedy. Radio Bob tells you all about his audio fiction series order on the Time:Bombs feed. Ian De Vries comes back to Zero Hours to share another message about how good, heartfelt content can get us through an apocalypse. Edmond LaValle records another message for his sister over at Unseen, letting her know all about the new show he just heard and loved. And in the Danse Macabre, Count Dracula makes a surprise return from the dead to let you know why you should listen to Hit Singles. (Before it’s too late…)
It’s been a blast to revisit these characters for these little messages - a kaleidoscope of our work over ten years of making audio fiction. But it really is all building up to Hit Singles - the biggest show we’ve made so far, and a great evolutionary leap forward.
So if you've been on the fence about listening, and you still have a free trial lying around somewhere? Or an extra credit you've been meaning to spend? Take a chance on us and give Hit Singles a listen!
Wrapping things up with some QUICK HITS…
You all see Sinners yet? If you haven’t, run to go see it right now. It’s absolutely terrific. I keep seeing reports about how it might just break the Hollywood studio system in half, but honestly it might just be worth it…
What Have I Been Listening To? Sex, Drugs, and Existential Dread by Chloe Qisha. Honestly, have not been able to get this banger out of my head since I first discovered it. It’s like somebody made Zero Hours into a song but with a better sense of humor, my god.
All right, that’s it for this one. Check out Hit Singles on Audible, and keep an eye out for more news about The Harbingers!
More soon!
Gabriel Urbina
04.24.2025