With its unique take on cancel culture, the blurred lines of comedy and the high stakes of humour, Dean’s Killer Joke has sparked discussions among comedy fans and podcast listeners.
The story follows the aftermath of comedian Dean Blackshaw’s cancelation, which ultimately leads to him being found dead in a comedy club greenroom with the note “For the joke”.
Each week, narrator Anne-Marie Buchanan (played by Jennifer Anderson) confronts her stand-up comedian friends-turned-suspects who partied with Dean the night he died.
The show also hinges on a jaw-dropping reveal at the end of the first episode: the outrageously offensive joke that got Dean cancelled? It was given to him by Anne-Marie. Finding out who killed him is the least she could do!
From Evagation Media, the series was written, produced, directed and edited by TV and podcast producer, Brandon Rizzuto.
It’s also a bit of a family production as Anne-Marie is played by Brandon’s sister-in-law, while her sidekick, journalist Malcolm Atwater, is played by his brother, Tom Rizzuto, who also wrote some original music for the series, including its theme song.
Brandon explains: “Dean’s Killer Joke began as a podcast pilot script titled Dave’s Killer Set, which earned an Honorable Mention in Screencraft’s 2021 Podcast Writing Competition. Building on this success, the script went on to rank #6 on Coverfly’s prestigious The Red List for Drama Podcasts.
“I then expanded the concept into a full seven-episode audio drama and rebranded it as Dean’s Killer Joke. The series was independently produced and premiered on November 12, 2024.
“We quickly made waves, climbing Apple’s Comedy Fiction charts globally, reaching #34 in the UK, #46 in the US, and top spots such as #1 in Poland, #2 in the Philippines, #4 in Egypt.
“It was also recently voted the Top Scripted Comedy Podcast and the #3 Mystery Podcast of 2024 by the Audio Drama Subreddit community.”
Set in the ever-changing world of what we can and can’t say, Dean’s Killer Joke not only makes you question who killed Dean but where you stand on cancel culture.
Brandon adds: “Some jokes cross the line, but you laughed at a couple of them, right? Should you lose your job over that? Your life? Should Dean have? You, along with Anne-Marie, will decide.”
Dean’s Killer Joke is available on all podcast platforms.
