THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!

Table Read Podcast

Finalist in Other Podcast Genres

Objective

Table Read Podcast has taken the perfunctory Hollywood table read and made it immersive and accessible to all. Each screenplay is a new adventure in several episodes, taking you behind the scenes of the creative process- as though you’re sitting right at the table reading the script with the cast. Editors even leave in occasional slip-ups, guffaws, and happy accidents by the performers, creating a right-at-home feel for the listener, even amidst undeniable talent and skill.

Our scripts have included a wide array of perspectives and genres. Love & Darkness is a multi-generational saga tracking the triumphs and tragedies of a powerful Hungarian Jewish family during WWII, and the coming-of-age comedy PV & Franny features voices of legendary comedians Fred Armisen and Ty Burrell.  We've also dabbled in horror, holiday, & conspiracy theory.

Table Read is created by Jack Levy (Battlestar, Agents of Shield), Shaan Sharma (The Chosen), and Mark Knell (MTV) who know that many talented writers spend hours hidden away creating beautiful worlds that are often never seen or heard. Our goal is to make these writers feel celebrated, and surround them with fellow storytellers (actors, producers, sound designers) who can't wait to bring their script to life...together. We also hope our listeners will feel immersed in the world they're listening to, identify with some of the themes, or grow to feel more connected to their global community by hearing stories outside their current sphere. And of course...we just wanna have fun telling great stories. That too.

Strategy

After screening and choosing scripts, we cast professional actors and record all together in a first class recording studio. We record sitting in a circle much like a traditional table read so the actors can see and respond to each other, but instead of a table there are professional mics set up by a skilled sound engineer. After recording, we do a full finish with sound effects and music.

We're also thrilled to be one of the first major podcasts to partner with SAG-AFTRA using their new Independent Podcast Agreement. Our partnership ensures that we can continue to attract top talent, both on the production side and on the performance side, while also providing a high-quality listening experience for our audience. We believe it's important to partner with and take care of everyone involved in creating our podcast, including protecting the performers by ensuring their earnings help them qualify for healthcare and pension. Our innovative model in the podcast space allows for continued profit participation from their episodes.

The biggest challenge has been finding scripts that will translate well to an audio audience, since many scripts are written with visual cues to lead the story.

Results

We launched our podcast in March of 2023 and since then it has remained consistently in Apple Podcast Fiction top 10! We recently hit 3 million downloads, have had 16 nominations, and 8 award wins, and our podcast is gaining listeners weekly! 

Media

Video for Table Read Podcast

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Manifest Media Productions

Links

Entry Credits