Bodkin perfectly combines the podcast fever that has recently taken hold of society with the true crime obsession that continues to percolate in every corner of the entertainment industry. Premiering on May 9, the 7-episode show follows a ragtag group of would-be podcasters who travel to a coastal Irish town in order to gather stories about a mysterious trio of disappearances. Their human interest angle from the past soon gives way to a full-blown investigation in the present, however, with surprises in store for everyone involved.

Siobhán Cullen leads the cast of Bodkin as Dove, an investigative journalist with unconventional research methods who thinks she has better things to do than track down such a small-fry story. But once her nose for sleuthing uncovers a larger conspiracy, she drags her coworkers Gilbert (Will Forte) and Emmy (Robyn Cara) full speed ahead into dangerous waters. The show was created by Jez Scharf, serving as the first television series under the Higher Ground Productions banner, and counts Barack and Michelle Obama among its executive producers.

Screen Rant interviewed Forte, Cullen, and Cara about their upcoming Netflix series, what each character could stand to learn from the others in Bodkin season 1, and why Ireland is the perfect place for aspiring podcasters film.

“Everybody Learns From Everybody” In Bodkin Season 1

Screen Rant: Siobhán, Dove isn’t too happy about being stuck in Bodkin on a podcast gig when she’s a hard-nosed investigative journalist. How does her point of view shift over the course of the season?

Siobhán Cullen: Yeah, I think when we first meet her, she’s in a really bad place. She’s going through not only a crisis in her career but a personal crisis as well. And I think being forced back to Ireland, a place that she has a lot of negative connotations with and a place that holds a lot of trauma for her, forces [her] to face all those demons.

In doing so, she confronts them and sort of acknowledges the effects that they’ve had on her as a person and the beliefs that she holds. She goes on quite the journey, I believe. Yeah,

Will, I feel like Gilbert’s almost in the opposite place. He’s super chill starting off with this podcast gig and almost has to be dragged into the investigation by the other two. Can you talk about what he learns from working with Dove?

Will Forte: Yeah, I think that he starts out just thinking it’s just this colorful fluff piece. [That’s] what he’s envisioning, and then when they start to figure things out, he is reluctant for some reason.

But I think that eventually, Dove starts to teach him that what he’s doing affects other people in ways that he might not be aware of. And he learns from her a little bit. She learns from him a little bit. Everybody learns from everybody a little bit.

Speaking of learning from everyone, Robin, Emmy’s young, fresh, and new at the game. What tips would you say she picks up over the season? Who does she start to emulate more and why?

Robyn Cara: Yeah, so she’s very fresh This is her first time out in the field, and she’s looked up to Dove’s investigative journalism career for so long now. I think Dove gives her a bit of daring that she might not have already had, and she encourages that in maybe not the best way possible. But it definitely brings that out of her, which ultimately is going to make her a better journalist… Maybe.

Siobhán Cullen: Yeah, it builds character. That’s what. Unusual tactics, but builds character.

Bodkin May Not Be Real, But It’s Great For Ireland & Podcasts

The setting in Ireland, which is just gorgeous, should immediately make people want to watch the series. But what did you like best about bringing the fictional town of Botkin to life?

Will Forte: The easy one is just being there in that beautiful spot. Every location was just a delight to be in. I mean, we shot in Dublin and Wicklow for a while, and then we were down in a place called Union Hall in West Cork for a lot of it. It was stunning [shot] after stunning shot after stunning shot.

It was just a treat to spend that much time in these different, incredibly beautiful locations with these amazing people that you got to hang around with all the time.

Siobhán and Robin, if you had to start your own podcast series, what is one that you’d want to jump on?

Siobhán Cullen: Podcasts that I listen to all the time are always personal story podcasts, like This American Life and Heavyweight. I love John Green’s The Anthropocene Reviewed.

So, if I had to make a podcast, that’s the route I would like to go down. Get people in studio with me and get them to open up about their dark secrets. That’s what my vibe would be.

Robyn Cara: My favorite podcast is Off Menu. I love Off Menu, which is just about your dream meal. It’s basically about food, so mine would be about food.

About Bodkin

Bodkin is a darkly comedic thriller about a motley crew of podcasters who set out to investigate the mysterious disappearance of three strangers in an idyllic, coastal Irish town. But once they start pulling at threads, they discover a story much bigger and weirder than they could have ever imagined. As our heroes try to discern fact from fiction — about the case, about their colleagues, and, most painfully, themselves — the series challenges our perception of truth and exposes the stories we tell ourselves to justify our beliefs or validate our fears.

Source: Screen Rant Plus