Ethan Hawke Stars in Supernatural Podcast “Midnight Radio”: “There’s an Intimacy in Audio-Only Media”

Ethan Hawke dons a tinfoil hat for the scripted supernatural podcast Midnight Radio, set to reach your headphones just in time for Halloween. Hawke plays the host of a late-night AM radio conspiracy show who receives a mysterious call from a man claiming to be part of a secret U.S. program […]

Ethan Hawke dons a tinfoil hat for his spooky scripted podcast Midnight Radio, which is coming to your headphones just in time for Halloween.

Huck stars as the host of a conspiracy-themed nighttime AM radio show who receives a mysterious call one night from a man claiming to be part of a secret US space mission lost to history. The story takes place in real time and leads radio host Huck into a conspiracy involving "a vast web of government cover-ups, interdimensional breaches, and psychological warfare." Related Stories Taylor Swift's 'Patient Zero' Holds No.1 on Singles Chart for Second Week Taylor Swift has spent her 100th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as 'Life of a Showgirl' tops the second week of the 'Encore'.

According to the podcast's logline: "As the broadcast unfolds, strange signals hidden in the radio static reveal themselves. As each episode builds to its finale, one question becomes more pressing — who or what is really at the end of the line? And what do they want?" Popular in Variety

The first episode of "Midnight Radio" will be released on October 22nd and is available on the iHeartRadio app and all major podcast platforms. New episodes are released every Thursday at 12am PT / 3am ET.

The series comes from the team behind the films "Shoom" and "Black Phone" (Hawk starred in all three films). The nine-part series was created and written by Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, and is produced by Under The Influence Productions (founded by Ethan Hawke and his husband Ryan Hawke), Crooked Highway and Mickey Schiff in association with iHeartPodcasts.

In addition to Hawke, the ensemble cast includes Noah Centineo, Willa Fitzgerald, Vincent D'onofrio, Levon Hawke, Austin Pendleton and Hubert Point de Jour.

"Neither of us had ever done a podcast before, so it was a blast to throw ourselves fully into a venture where we had complete creative freedom," Huck says. "There's an intimacy in the audio-only medium that can be really powerful, and in our case, it's used to terrific effect. Of course, that requires great writing... Fortunately, Scott Derrickson and Cargill are two of the best writers I've ever worked with."

"Midnight Radio" is a labor of love and an act of unfettered creativity, said Derrickson. "Ethan, Cargill, and I set out to make this without any sponsorship. Our goal was to create a scary, complex, and increasingly engaging narrative podcast with zero creative limits. 'Midnight Radio' has a purity to it — exactly what we wanted it to be. And now we're thrilled to be working with iHeart to bring it to listeners."

Hawkes' Under the Influence Productions is producing, with UTIP's Jamie Bay leading the company alongside Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill's Crooked Highway and Mickey Schiff. The team is independently financing the project. Vince Cheng, president of Crooked Highway Production, is overseeing the release. The project is repped by CAA and WME. The series will be distributed by iHeartPodcasts.