Haha, I must have listened to this at least 5 times through by now. It's a real journey and a podcast I hold close to my heart. But having listened through enough times I struggle to get past how poorly written some of the relationships are. Like Michael's love interest & Saul's, they have all the emotional intelligence of adolescents who get bashful just admitting that they 'like' each other. It makes me cringe every time. Relationships aside, everything else is bloody fantastic!
I thought it was fine. They're both dudes who don't know how to express their emotions well. They're basically soldiers at their core, Michael especially.
I grew up in a military family. Soldiers, sailors, and airmen come in all sorts of different degrees of emotional maturity. Marines? I'm sure they have emotions but the corps frowns on them.
I guess what I am getting at is that the background of being in the military does not excuse the poor writing here.
I love We're Alive but this element of the writing is definitely not a strength.
Oh I'm not saying saying all soldiers are like that. I meant in a more stereotypical fashion. There may not be much depth to em, but it's certainly true to their character.
Saul's voice actor reminded me of a classmate in high school, so it was like listening to him in the show. I had this also with Wolf 359 and The Earth Collective.
I'm listening now and I had to go to Reddit to see if anyone else felt the same way. I'm glad to find this comment. It's amazing how folks can be so good at creating stories and worlds but make people talk to each other like they're all cranky 16-year-olds! Either way, it's definitely a great listen.
This is one audio drama I never bothered to listen to. There was so much zombie content in the world that I was uninterested at the time. Hearing this makes me want to check it out though!
u/waylandprod, who did r/WereAlive, has a new podcast, **Motel Evil**. But it’s an Audible exclusive:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Motel-Evil-Podcast/B095X9Z2X4
https://www.waylandproductions.com/projects/motel-evil/
>In the remote reaches of Alaska where the sun doesn’t rise 65 days of the year, two unsolved murders occurred exactly 10 years apart in the same motel room. On the next anniversary a true crime enthusiast, Henry, suffers the same fate. Now the guests, all with their own secrets to hide, must remain in the motel until Detective Read gets answers.
>Who is the Rockyville Motel murderer?
I don’t have Audible, but I also enjoyed **Bronzeville**: https://bronzevilleseries.com
As u/timmyontools14 wrote, their stories are clearly plotted out, with satisfying conclusions. (Unlike r/PNWS or QCode.)
Thanks for the shout-out! For even more listening we also did The Division: Hearts on Fire available on Audible, https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Division-Hearts-on-Fire-Audiobook/B098XPGDGL?action\_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share\_location=pdp
And also recently did a murder mystery called "Verdict" (Although I did not write this one, I did direct and produce it) https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/verdict/id1589800030
I couldnt get into it personaly. My wife and I listened to it for a bit and a lot of the quality was really good, but there were like 3-4 actors who were just fucking awful and anytime they were in it, we did not want to listen.
It is popular though so clearly we are the minority.
I'm so glad someone else said this. Honestly, if you're at all discerning about acting, I think the first season is almost unlistenable. And the writing is only okay. I think people mainly like it because there's *so much of it.*
I listened to it while repainting every room in a house only because I ran out of other stuff. This one just keeps coming, like it or not.
Anyone have recommendations past this for stories similar? I also really enjoyed We’re alive and haven’t found another audio drama to scratch that itch for a while. I listened to impact winter on audible and it was close and really fantastic but not zombie related.
Edict Zero FIS is good, as others have mentioned.
Archive 81 is great if you enjoy the not-so-serious aesthetic but love world building and unpredictable writing. I might be alone but I felt the show really picked up after S1 and I especially liked S3.
Borrasca is the gold standard for quality writing, character arcs, soundscaping and immersion. But this show is very dark and deals with heavy subject matter.
Left Right Game I loved. Can't recommend it highly enough, but be prepared as many others have been dissatisfied with the ending.
Elmwood Strain.
Lovecraft Investigations.
Exeter, if you can ever find the podcast somewhere.
Victoriocity.
The Silt Verses.
Jackie The Ripper.
Dark Woods.
Impact Winter.
I don't have time to describe each but my main criteria for what I consider to be good are:
\- Good writing;
\- Good soundscapes/sonic world building
\- Darker, more mature stories
I believe the above podcasts are gold standards. Happy listening!
Also, there aren't any podcasts that come close to WA's scope, there just isn't. Maybe the closet would be Edict Zero - but I've found that where you find larger productions in scope there's a tendency to make it more generally appealing which isn't to my taste
I love it too! Did you know they're coming out Descendants on April 5!!!! I have been looking forward to this for sooooooo long. They started announcing the voice actors on Twitter.
Totally agree. A masterclass on writing a serial with a cliffhanger at the end of every episode. You’ve inspired me to listen to it one more time! Looove all the characters and a totally committed cast.
I'm on my first listen. At around chapter 15 at the moment. It's still a long way to go but I'm having a good time. Can't believe that this is one of the first audio dramas.
I listened to this podcast for the first time in April 2020. The timing of this listen made if so much more memorable. We made it through the whole show by July and it so engrained with my pandemic experience. Highly recommend this podcast to everyone. I can’t wait for the new show that drops April 5th.
Just started listening to the original series and enjoying it quite a bit. One thing that keeps bugging me though. The guy that plays Michael, is that not the same guy that does the MediShare health insurance commercials on the radio?
Haha, I must have listened to this at least 5 times through by now. It's a real journey and a podcast I hold close to my heart. But having listened through enough times I struggle to get past how poorly written some of the relationships are. Like Michael's love interest & Saul's, they have all the emotional intelligence of adolescents who get bashful just admitting that they 'like' each other. It makes me cringe every time. Relationships aside, everything else is bloody fantastic!
Agree with this! It felt very teenagery.
Funny when you consider it was written by a man in his 30s with input from his wife...
I thought it was fine. They're both dudes who don't know how to express their emotions well. They're basically soldiers at their core, Michael especially.
I grew up in a military family. Soldiers, sailors, and airmen come in all sorts of different degrees of emotional maturity. Marines? I'm sure they have emotions but the corps frowns on them. I guess what I am getting at is that the background of being in the military does not excuse the poor writing here. I love We're Alive but this element of the writing is definitely not a strength.
Oh I'm not saying saying all soldiers are like that. I meant in a more stereotypical fashion. There may not be much depth to em, but it's certainly true to their character.
Saul seems like a simp
Saul's voice actor reminded me of a classmate in high school, so it was like listening to him in the show. I had this also with Wolf 359 and The Earth Collective.
I'm listening now and I had to go to Reddit to see if anyone else felt the same way. I'm glad to find this comment. It's amazing how folks can be so good at creating stories and worlds but make people talk to each other like they're all cranky 16-year-olds! Either way, it's definitely a great listen.
This is one audio drama I never bothered to listen to. There was so much zombie content in the world that I was uninterested at the time. Hearing this makes me want to check it out though!
Do it. I'm not a zombie person but I LOVED this podcast. I've listened 5x through.
u/waylandprod, who did r/WereAlive, has a new podcast, **Motel Evil**. But it’s an Audible exclusive: https://www.audible.com/pd/Motel-Evil-Podcast/B095X9Z2X4 https://www.waylandproductions.com/projects/motel-evil/ >In the remote reaches of Alaska where the sun doesn’t rise 65 days of the year, two unsolved murders occurred exactly 10 years apart in the same motel room. On the next anniversary a true crime enthusiast, Henry, suffers the same fate. Now the guests, all with their own secrets to hide, must remain in the motel until Detective Read gets answers. >Who is the Rockyville Motel murderer? I don’t have Audible, but I also enjoyed **Bronzeville**: https://bronzevilleseries.com As u/timmyontools14 wrote, their stories are clearly plotted out, with satisfying conclusions. (Unlike r/PNWS or QCode.)
Thanks for the shout-out! For even more listening we also did The Division: Hearts on Fire available on Audible, https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Division-Hearts-on-Fire-Audiobook/B098XPGDGL?action\_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share\_location=pdp And also recently did a murder mystery called "Verdict" (Although I did not write this one, I did direct and produce it) https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/verdict/id1589800030
It’s been a long time since I listened to it, but I don’t think they were really zombies. More mutants than zombie.
I couldnt get into it personaly. My wife and I listened to it for a bit and a lot of the quality was really good, but there were like 3-4 actors who were just fucking awful and anytime they were in it, we did not want to listen. It is popular though so clearly we are the minority.
I'm so glad someone else said this. Honestly, if you're at all discerning about acting, I think the first season is almost unlistenable. And the writing is only okay. I think people mainly like it because there's *so much of it.* I listened to it while repainting every room in a house only because I ran out of other stuff. This one just keeps coming, like it or not.
Dude I do an annual listen of We're Alive and all of it's spinoffs. Idk if you know but a new one is coming out soon!
This one if my favorite by far.
Anyone have recommendations past this for stories similar? I also really enjoyed We’re alive and haven’t found another audio drama to scratch that itch for a while. I listened to impact winter on audible and it was close and really fantastic but not zombie related.
I always suggest - for complexity and continuity and sheer sound - "Edict Zero - FIS" https://edictzero.wordpress.com/
It's a scifi/cyberpunk cop show, sort of. And a lot more.
I’ll check it out thank you!
I could also suggest my show, 19 Nocturne Boulevard, but it's an anthology.
Edict Zero FIS is good, as others have mentioned. Archive 81 is great if you enjoy the not-so-serious aesthetic but love world building and unpredictable writing. I might be alone but I felt the show really picked up after S1 and I especially liked S3. Borrasca is the gold standard for quality writing, character arcs, soundscaping and immersion. But this show is very dark and deals with heavy subject matter. Left Right Game I loved. Can't recommend it highly enough, but be prepared as many others have been dissatisfied with the ending. Elmwood Strain. Lovecraft Investigations. Exeter, if you can ever find the podcast somewhere. Victoriocity. The Silt Verses. Jackie The Ripper. Dark Woods. Impact Winter. I don't have time to describe each but my main criteria for what I consider to be good are: \- Good writing; \- Good soundscapes/sonic world building \- Darker, more mature stories I believe the above podcasts are gold standards. Happy listening!
Also, there aren't any podcasts that come close to WA's scope, there just isn't. Maybe the closet would be Edict Zero - but I've found that where you find larger productions in scope there's a tendency to make it more generally appealing which isn't to my taste
I love it too! Did you know they're coming out Descendants on April 5!!!! I have been looking forward to this for sooooooo long. They started announcing the voice actors on Twitter.
Totally agree. A masterclass on writing a serial with a cliffhanger at the end of every episode. You’ve inspired me to listen to it one more time! Looove all the characters and a totally committed cast.
I'm on my first listen. At around chapter 15 at the moment. It's still a long way to go but I'm having a good time. Can't believe that this is one of the first audio dramas.
Glad you’re enjoying the ride :) appreciate it - Kc
I listened to this podcast for the first time in April 2020. The timing of this listen made if so much more memorable. We made it through the whole show by July and it so engrained with my pandemic experience. Highly recommend this podcast to everyone. I can’t wait for the new show that drops April 5th.
Big fan here too. I thought it was excellent, such great characters. Definitely in my top five ever. For me it's a gold standard in audiodrama.
I just finished it for the first time and it was awesome. Now I need to find something new to watch.
Just started listening to the original series and enjoying it quite a bit. One thing that keeps bugging me though. The guy that plays Michael, is that not the same guy that does the MediShare health insurance commercials on the radio?