FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DESPERADO JOINS THE HUG HOUSE PRODUCTIONS SLATE OF PODCASTS, SEASON 2 DEBUTS JUNE 13TH
(6/9/2022 Mesa AZ)—Podcast collective Hug House Productions has announced that fiction podcast Desperado will be joining its slate of podcasts. Desperado is the first podcast being added to the Hug House collective; all other Hug House podcasts have been created and run by Hug House’s founders.
Desperado is a serialized, full-cast audio drama following three demigods on a roadtrip-like quest against crusaders, at the behest of their godly patrons:
Desperado takes place in a world almost like ours, if myths and witchcraft were alive and thriving. The story is told by 3 characters, each chosen by the god of Death of their respective culture, as their powers awaken. The first is Elio Lorès. With his tall stature, scruffy beard and too-many scars, Elio has more than enough to intimidate. He grew up in a small village named Azcatla, lost in the plains of Mexico. But on the night it all started, Azcatla is ablaze.
For most of North-America is patrolled by modern-day inquisitors, priests in kevlar vests and cotton sleeves, their armors stitched between centuries. Armed from head to toe, they eliminated everyone in Azcatla under accusations of witchcraft. But Elio manages to escape. He runs to a city in ruins and there he finds the last remnants of an old spirit. The village’s ancestral guardian. And under Elio’s desperate prayer, she awakens again, using him as a vessel for her vengeance. From then on, Elio will have to escape mercenaries and hunters chasing after him. During his journey he’ll be joined by Shinji and Talia, respectively from Japan and Haïti. Together they’ll unite forces under one objective: take down the Old Man In The Sky, the deity from which all crusaders draw their powers.
To survive, they’ll have to become God Killers.
Desperado mixes narration and immersive action. The story’s themes discuss faith, tradition, colonization, identity, and found family. Its second season will debut on Monday, June 13th.
Hug House Productions was founded on the idea of uplifting innovative, humanistic stories from marginalized voices. “I can’t imagine a better fit to bring on as our first outside podcast than Desperado,” says Hug House Productions CEO Wil Williams. “Not only have the Hug House founders been longtime fans of Desperado, we’ve been longtime fans of the show’s creator, Samy Souissi. Few creators have such a knack for bringing small, intimate stories and massive, world-ending stakes together so elegantly—let alone with such sincerity, humor, and commentary. We are honored to bring Desperado to our collective and Samy Souissi to our team.” In late 2021, Williams recommended Desperado on KQED’s Forum, long before discussions of bringing Desperado into the collective began.
Hug House Productions confirms that Soussi maintains the rights and intellectual property of Desperado. Moving forward through the launch of Desperado‘s second season, Hug House Productions will maintain Desperado‘s RSS feed, website (including hosting transcripts), marketing, distribution, and more. Desperado‘s Season 2 trailer and casting announcements are available on the show’s Twitter.
You can find the Hug House website here and the Desperado website here.
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About Hug House Productions
Launched in 2019, Hug House Productions is a podcast production collective founded by three queer friends: Anne Baird, Katie Youmans, and Wil Williams. Hug House produces the award-winning audio drama VALENCE, Scoring Magic, HEXADEC, You Are Not The Jellicle Choice, and now, Desperado.
You can contact Hug House Productions at hughouseproductions@gmail.com.