As the true crime podcast “Serial” has amassed a following in the US, Dan Debuf from the Dan and Maz Show has created his own parody series called “Cereal”.

The spin off follows Dan as he sleuths around the Today office, trying to uncover what happened to his bowl of cereal, framing producer Leon and co-presenter Maz as the main suspects.

While podcasts have been growing in popularity in the past decade, since the invention of the iPod, those with the highest downloads are daily recaps of popular radio shows.

Breaking away from this trend in late 00’s were The Ricky Gervais Show podcasts which the comedian decided to continue, alongside his friends and co-presenters Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington despite leaving Xfm in London. The podcasts garnered global attention and 4.5 millions downloads within the first 2 months.

“Serial” however, breaks even newer ground. It taps into the nostalgic, dying art of radio plays and delivers it through the accessible medium of podcasts to reignite the public’s engagement in solely audible, scripted entertainment.

The ever enduring genre of crime, hooks listeners who are then able to access the content whenever they want. This culminates in an engaging enough and accessible enough aural alternative to the TV shows from networks like Netflix and HBO that are dominating the entertainment landscape.