The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel

Last updated
The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel
The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel.png
Presentation
Starring
  • Jaiya Chetram
  • Natalie Mehl
  • Kate Wolfson
  • Wyatt Ralff
  • Carter Minor
  • Rileigh McDonald
  • Mairead O'Neil
  • Brandon Simms
  • Shane Epstein-Petrullo
  • Courtney Chu
  • Fiona Kreizman
  • Michael Perilstein
  • Lipica Shah
  • Ilana Ransom-Toeplitz
  • Charlie Pollock
Genre
Format Audio drama
Created by
  • Benjamin Strouse
  • Chris Tarry
  • David Kreizman
  • Jenny Turner Hall
Written by
  • David Kreizman
  • Benjamin Strouse
  • Chris Tarry
  • Jenny Turner Hall
  • Nidhi Mehta
Directed by
  • Jenny Turner Hall
  • Michelle Tattenbaum
Voices
  • Oliver Gould
  • Chloe Tarry
  • Oliver Kreizman
  • Arthur Strouse
  • Logan Hall
  • Daniel Maloof
  • Emma Hankey
  • Eliana Brenden
  • Dash Kreizman
  • Jennifer Roszell,
  • Graham Stevens
  • Alexa Ralph
  • Dina Perlman
  • Robbie Berry
  • Tabitha Ginsberg
LanguageEnglish
Length15–30 minutes
Production
Production
  • Benjamin Strouse
  • Rebecca Hanover
Composed by
  • Shawn Pierce
  • Chris Tarry
  • Alan Friedman
  • Paul Connolly
  • Chris Suilit
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes30
Publication
Original releaseOctober 2, 2016 –
September 20, 2021
Provider
Related
Related shows
Website gzmshows.com/shows/listing/mars-patel/

The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel is a children's audio drama and science fiction podcast produced by Blobfish Radio, Gen-Z Media, and Pinna.fm Network . The show won a Peabody Award in 2016 and was later adapted into books and optioned for a television show.

Contents

Background

The show was produced by Blobfish Radio, Gen-Z Media, and Pinna.fm Network. [1] [2] [3] The voice actors for the main characters are played by middle school children. [3] According to The New York Times , the appropriate age audience for the show is eight to twelve years old. [4] The show originally debuted in 2016, but the episodes were re-released in 2021. [5]

The podcast is a mystery that follows an eleven year old Indian boy named Manu "Mars" Patel and his friends Caddie Pratchett, JP McGowan, and Randall "Toothpick" Lee as they investigate the disappearance of their friends Aurora Gershowitz and Jonas Hopkins. [6] The protagonists suspect that a technology business magnate named Oliver Pruitt is responsible for the disappearances. [1] Throughout the story the characters piece together clues from various mediums such as emails, newspapers, instant messages, and transcripts. [1] Mars Patel and his friends eventually travel to the planet Mars to investigate Oliver Pruitt's space colony. [6]

Cast and characters

Reception

Melissa Locker of The Guardian , praised the show saying that it was an "adventurous kids podcast, reminiscent of old-time radio dramas." [7] Amanda Hess of The New York Times called the show "the 'Serial' of children's podcasts." [2] Steve Greene of IndieWire praised the show, saying that it was a "mystery investigation with just the right dash of whimsy and a healthy dose of scientific curiosity baked into it." [8]

The show has similar themes to the Netflix original television show called Stranger Things . [9]

The show was used as an educational aid in Warren Township Schools classrooms. [10]

Awards

AwardYearCategoryResultRef.
Peabody Awards 2016Podcast & RadioWon [11] [12]
Webby Awards 2017Podcasts—DramaNominated [13]
Webby Awards 2017Podcasts—Best Sound Design/ Original Music Score 2017Nominated [13]
Scribe Awards 2021Young Adult / Middle GradeNominated [14] [15]

Adaptions

The book series was written by children's author Sheela Chari and published by Walker Books. [16] The first book is a 287-page adaption of the first season of the podcast, which was published on October 6, 2020. [6] The second book is a 304-page adaption of the second season of the podcast, which was published on October 12, 2021. [17]

The show was optioned for a Disney+ television show. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>This American Life</i> Short stories radio program and podcast

This American Life (TAL) is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays, memoirs, field recordings, short fiction, and found footage. The first episode aired on November 17, 1995, under the show's original title, Your Radio Playhouse. The series was distributed by Public Radio International until June 2014, when the program became self-distributed with Public Radio Exchange delivering new episodes to public radio stations.

Nova is an American popular science television program produced by WGBH in Boston, Massachusetts, since 1974. It is broadcast on PBS in the United States, and in more than 100 other countries. The program has won many major television awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNYC</span> New York Public Radio audio service brand

WNYC is an audio service brand, under the control of New York Public Radio, a non-profit organization. Radio and other audio programming is primarily provided by a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations: WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, located in New York City. Both stations are members of NPR and carry local and national news/talk programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonia Manzano</span> American actress

Sonia Manzano is an American actress, screenwriter, and author. She is best known for playing Maria on Sesame Street from 1971 to 2015. She received a Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy Award in 2016.

KUOW-FM is a National Public Radio member station in Seattle, Washington. It is the largest of the three full-fledged NPR member stations in the Seattle and Tacoma media market, with two Tacoma-based stations, KNKX and KVTI being the others. It is a service of the University of Washington, but is operated by KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio, a nonprofit community organization. Studios are located on University Way in Seattle's University District, while the transmitter is on Capitol Hill.

<i>Marketplace</i> (radio program) American radio program

Marketplace is an American radio program that focuses on business, the economy, and events that influence them. The program was first broadcast on January 2, 1989. Hosted by Kai Ryssdal since 2005, the show is produced and distributed by American Public Media. Marketplace is produced in Los Angeles with bureaus in New York, Washington, D.C., Portland, Baltimore, London, and Shanghai. It won a Peabody Award in 2000.

David Kreizman is an American writer known for his work on television soap operas. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia. He was signed as a head writer at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from March 21, 2013, to August 15, 2014. He is the founder of Gen Z Media. His debut book "The Year They Fell" was published in 2019.

<i>Radiolab</i> American radio program

Radiolab is a radio program and podcast produced by WNYC, a public radio station based in New York City, and broadcast on more than 570 public radio stations in the United States. The show has earned many industry awards for its "imaginative use of radio" including a National Academies Communication Award and two Peabody Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNYC-FM</span> Public radio station in New York City

WNYC-FM (93.9 MHz) is a non-commercial public radio station, licensed to New York, New York. It, along with WNYC (AM), is one of the primary outlets for WNYC branded programming provided by the non-profit New York Public Radio (NYPR).

<i>The Verge</i> American technology news and media website

The Verge is an American technology news website headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hedley Thomas</span> Australian journalist

Hedley Thomas is an Australian investigative journalist and author, who has won eight Walkley Awards, two of which are Gold Walkleys.

<i>99% Invisible</i> Radio program and podcast on design

99% Invisible is a radio show and podcast produced and created by Roman Mars that focuses on design. It began as a collaborative project between San Francisco public radio station KALW and the American Institute of Architects in San Francisco. PRX has distributed the show for broadcasting on a number of radio stations and as a podcast on the Radiotopia network. On April 28, 2021, Roman Mars announced in an introduction of a re-released episode that 99% Invisible had been purchased by Sirius XM and marketed as part of its Stitcher Radio brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hasan Minhaj</span> American comedian and actor (born 1985)

Hasan Minhaj is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, and television host. Much of his comedy involves Indian culture and the modern American political landscape through the use of satire, observational comedy and dark comedy. His Netflix series Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj won an Emmy Award, a Peabody Award, and two Webby Awards. In 2019, he was listed in Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

WNYC Studios is a producer and distributor of podcasts and on-demand and broadcast audio. WNYC Studios is a subsidiary of New York Public Radio and is headquartered in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elena Favilli</span> Italian author, and entrepreneur

Elena Favilli is an Italian-American bestselling author, speaker, and media entrepreneur.

<i>Molly of Denali</i> Animated TV series

Molly of Denali is an animated children's television series produced by WGBH Kids and animated by Atomic Cartoons, created by Dorothea Gillim and Kathy Waugh for PBS Kids and CBC Kids. It premiered on July 15, 2019, and is the first American nationally distributed children's show to feature an Alaska Native as the lead character. 38 half-hour episodes were produced for season 1, with a 50-minute special as its season finale. A special live-action segment filmed in Alaska airs between the two 11-minute story segments.

Six Minutes is an all-ages family podcast by Gen-Z Media and the most downloaded family audio drama in history. The podcast consists of more than 200 episodes and 4 seasons. The third and fourth seasons are sequels of the show, titled Six Minutes: Out of Time. They were released in early March 2023 and late September 2024 respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebel Girls</span> American childrens media publisher

Rebel Girls is an American digital media company and children's book publisher founded by Elena Favilli, co-author of the Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series. The company produces content that focuses on the biographies of women from all over the world, and throughout history.

<i>Throughline</i> NPR historical podcast and radio program

Throughline is a historical podcast and radio program from American public radio network NPR. The podcast aims to contextualize current events by exploring the historical events that contributed to them. Its episodes have outlined the history of modern political debates, civil rights issues, and domestic and international policy. The show is NPR's first history podcast.

The Promise: Life, Death and Change in the Projects is a podcast produced by Nashville Public Radio.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Narrain, Aparna (April 3, 2021). "A Summer Playlist of 18 Podcasts for Kids Aged 10 to 16". The Hindu . The Hindu Group. ISSN   0971-751X. Archived from the original on March 27, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Hess, Amanda (October 3, 2017). "The New Bedtime Story Is a Podcast". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Espinosa, María Jesús (March 29, 2019). "Mars Patel, el Héroe del 'Podcast' Juvenil de Masas: el Trabajo de Misterio Para el Público Juvenil 'The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel', de pinna.fm, Acaba de Estrenar su Tercera Temporada" [Mars Patel, the Hero of the Mass Youth 'Podcast': The Work of Mystery For Youth Audiences pinna.fm's 'The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel' Just Premieres its Third Season]. El País (in Spanish). Diario El Pais S.A. ISSN   1134-6582. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  4. ↑ Patterson, Lindsay (March 17, 2021). "A Big List of Podcasts for Bigger Kids: There Has Been an Explosion of New Shows for Children in the Past Year. Here Are 30 of the Best for Kids Between 6 and 10". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  5. ↑ Wilson, Aigner Loren (September 1, 2021). "Radio at the End of the World: Audio Fiction and Drama Podcast Roundup July 2021". Discover Pods. Elite Cafe Media. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 "The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel: From the Mars Patel Series, Vol. 1". Kirkus Reviews . Kirkus Media. August 18, 2020. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  7. ↑ Locker, Melissa (December 21, 2016). "The 50 Best Podcasts of 2016: From Making Oprah to Trumpcast and My Dad Wrote a Porno, Here Are the Most Brilliant, Essential Listens of the Year". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  8. ↑ Greene, Steve (May 25, 2017). "10 Great Fiction Podcasts to Listen to Right Now: From "Bronzeville" to "Within the Wires," These Shows Have Some of the Best Stories Anywhere". IndieWire . Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  9. ↑ Stobber, Ian (October 3, 2016). "The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel Podcast: This Awesome New Podcast Might Just Be the Next Stranger Things - For Kids". AskMen . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  10. ↑ Regan, Shannon (May 3, 2021). "Warren Middle School teachers use podcasts for increased student engagement". Echoes-Sentinel. New Jersey Hills Media Group. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  11. ↑ "2016 Winner: The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel". Peabody Awards . 2016. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  12. ↑ Donat, Adrianna (May 24, 2017). "Mars Patel and the Totally Explainable Appearance of a Peabody in SOMA". The Village Green . Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  13. 1 2 "Two Nominations: The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel". Webby Awards . 2017. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  14. ↑ Maberry, Jonathan, ed. (July 3, 2021). "The Fifteenth Annual Scribe Awards (2021)". International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  15. ↑ "2021 Scribe Award Winners". Locus Online . Locus Publications. July 6, 2021. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  16. ↑ Foster, C. F. (October 17, 2021). "Book Review: Mars Patel Heads to Mars in Fast-Paced Adventure". The Florida Times-Union . Gannett. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  17. ↑ "The Interplanetary Expedition of Mars Patel: From the Mars Patel Series, Vol. 2". Kirkus Reviews . Kirkus Media. October 12, 2021. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  18. ↑ Shanahan, Mark (January 21, 2021). "Podcasts Are Hot, Hot, Hot as Tv Adaptations: 'It's Become Much Bigger Than We Expected. We're Kind of Like the Dog Who Caught the car.'". The Boston Globe . Boston Globe Media Partners. Archived from the original on April 5, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.