Mercury Podcasts has announced a December line-up for the time-travelling comedy role-playing podcast PastMaster.
It includes a Christmas special and a brand-new mini-series featuring some of the show’s most ambitious and chaotic adventures to date.
PastMaster began as a pub-chat hypothetical asking whether anyone could survive being dropped into the past armed only with modern knowledge.
It has since grown into a cult comedy hit, with hosts Ryan Mulchrone and Tan Parsons hurled into different historical eras while an AI-powered Game Master sets missions, twists outcomes and frequently refuses to help them survive.
Each episode plays out as a free-form, choose-your-own-adventure that includes history, science and improvisation.
The format allows anything to happen, from unexpected historical rewrites to total disaster, as the hosts attempt to “win the game” using logic that rarely survives contact with the AI.
Now part of indie podcast network Mercury Podcasts, PastMaster has attracted a growing line-up of comedy guests including Radio X presenter Matthew Crosby, rapper Nick Horseman and comedian Micky Overman.
The podcast has carved out a distinctive space by combining AI experimentation with long-form comedy storytelling.
Released on 22 December, the Christmas special will feature the cast of the award-winning Thots TV podcast, Elsie, Meg and Laura.
The festive episode sees the group travelling to the Arctic in search of Father Christmas, only to discover that something has gone very wrong in Santa’s workshop.
Alongside the special, listeners can also dive into a four-episode PastMaster mini-series, available now.
The collection brings together some of the show’s most unpredictable outings, including a trip to the year 3000 with Al Clayton, where debates around AI and creativity emerge in unexpected ways.
Another highlight includes a live recording from Cheerful Earful 2025, where Tan Parsons and Nick Horseman face a chaotic Countdown-style challenge inside Ancient Rome’s Colosseum.
Other episodes see beatboxing invented decades early at Woodstock and a darkly comic return of the Death Wish format, set inside a medieval nunnery.
Reflecting on the show so far, co-host Ryan Mulchrone says: “We’ve invented KFC in the Wild West, infiltrated Pablo Escobar’s cartel and even been to the year 3000. We even sent Danny Dyer back to the big bang. There’s a lot of history for us still to explore.”
Tan Parsons adds: “I’ve always wanted to travel through time and now I can. Thank you PastMaster.”
Looking ahead, PastMaster will move to an always-on production schedule in 2026, with fortnightly core episodes and additional side-quest mini episodes.
Future adventures will explore new regions and moments in history, with more comedy guests already lined up.
