The Netflix mystery series Bodkin is centered around a true crime podcast, but is it based on a true story? Bodkin, which was released in its entirety exclusively on Netflix on May 9, 2024, is a 7-episode miniseries that takes place entirely in a small coastal town in Ireland. The series was created by British writer Jez Scharf, whose previous works include Mister Biscuits (2018), Groucho Nietzsche (2014), and The UnDream (2013), and was directed in part by Bronwen Hughes (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul,13 Reasons Why). Bodkin opened to solid reviews, earning a 70% Rotten Tomatoes score.

Bodkin follows Saturday Night Live alum Will Forte’s happy-go-lucky protagonist Gilbert, a professional podcaster who travels to the small fictitious town of Bodkin, Ireland. Gilbert is accompanied by Emmy (Robyn Cara), his ambitious yet inexperienced assistant, and Dove (Siobhán Cullen), a no-nonsense investigative journalist who is running from a dark past of her own. Upon arriving in Bodkin, Gilbert, Dove, and Emmy are accompanied by Sean O’Shea (Chris Walley), a local Bodkin townie hired to be their driver during their stay. The longer the three journalists stay in Bodkin, the more mysteries they discover.

Netflix’s Bodkin Is Not Based On A Real Story

Everything in Bodkin is a complete work of fiction, even the town

Although the Netflix series Bodkin feels grounded in reality, the overall narrative is not directly tied to any one true story in particular. This means that Forte’s character is not based on an actual person, nor are any of the characters intended to depict real-life people, although Forte’s Gilbert certainly embodies a certain type of podcaster. On the other hand, while Siobhán Cullen’s Dove is also a fictional character, the actress is truly from Dublin, Ireland, which adds authenticity and legitimacy to Bodkin’s fictional setting.

In addition, David Wilmot, who plays Seamus in Bodkin, is an award-winning stage and screen actor from Ireland as well. Most of the supporting and background characters in Bodkin’s cast are also rooted in Ireland or the United Kingdom, which is even more reason to assume that Bodkin is based on a true story. While it is not, and Bodkin is not a real place in Ireland, it is entirely possible Bodkin was inspired in part by the West Cork podcast, which explored an unsolved murder in the small Irish town of Schull.

Bodkin Parodies Elements Of More Sensational True Crime Podcasts

Bodkin shares common themes and critiques on the sensationalism in true crime entertainment

Despite Bokdin’s trailer claiming the series to be “Based on a true story…overheard at a pub“, executive producer Alex Metcalf confirmed that it is “Not a real story, not a real place. It’s a fake town, it’s a fake place. It’s all fake people. The mystery itself, we worked very hard to find something that is in no way adjacent to a real true crime story. The fictionality of it was very deliberate.” (via Tudum). What Bodkin does capture accurately, however, is a realistic sense of the inherent sensationalism of murder and true crime podcasts, turning these themes on their head to offer a satirical perspective.

Other real-life, true crime podcasts can be a bit ghoulish in how they chase a story, upending small towns and the various people, even victims, involved with murders. It’s a recurring theme in Bodkin that the townspeople don’t want to revisit or dig up the past, and with plenty of good reason. Bodkin is also reminiscent of Black Mirror season 6, episode 2 “Loch Henry”, which touches on many of the same thematic, narrative, and locational points regarding true crime entertainment. “Loch Henry” takes place in Scotland, not Ireland, and the characters make a documentary, not a podcast but in both cases, the small town’s dark past is revealed, and true crime content is parodied.