{{Short description|Human interest podcast from Gimlet}} {{Infobox podcast | title = Mystery Show | image = Mystery-Logo.jpg | caption = ''Mystery Show'' logo | host = [[Starlee Kine]] | opentheme = "Those Mysteries"<br />performed by [[Sparks (band)|Sparks]] | genre = humor, human interest | began = {{Start date|2015|5|21}} | ended = {{End date|2015|7|31}} | provider = [[Gimlet Media]] | website = {{URL|https://gimletmedia.com/show/mystery-show/}} }}
'''''Mystery Show''''' is a [[Gimlet Media]] podcast hosted by [[Starlee Kine]] that ran for one season in 2015. In each episode, Kine solves a minor mystery which cannot be solved with search engines alone.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lyons|first1=Margaret|title=Mystery Show Is Your Next Podcast Obsession|url=http://www.vulture.com/2015/06/mystery-show-is-your-next-podcast-obsession.html|website=Vulture|date=26 June 2015 |publisher=New York Media LLC|accessdate=28 July 2015}}</ref> It was declared the best new podcast of 2015 by [[iTunes]].<ref>[https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/blog/apples-itunes-best-of-2015-list-for-podcasts-includes-a-ton-of-la-based-favorites-120915 Apple's iTunes Best of 2015 list for podcasts includes a ton of LA-based favorites]. ''Time Out'', December 9, 2015, Seth Kelley.</ref>
Mysteries tackled by the show include the closing of a video rental store and the origins of a peculiar custom belt buckle. During the investigations, Kine frequently veers from the original topic, asking subjects about more personal and philosophical matters.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fitzpatrick|first1=Molly|title=Fall in love with 'Mystery Show', your new favorite podcast|url=http://fusion.net/story/144975/fall-in-love-with-mystery-show-your-new-favorite-podcast/|website=Fusion|accessdate=28 July 2015|ref=1}}</ref>
In October 2016, Kine announced through a [[Medium (website)|Medium]] post and the show's Facebook page that she was no longer working at Gimlet Media and that the network would not be producing a second season of ''Mystery Show''.<ref name="medium">{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/@StarleeKine/hi-everyone-2c140c11488c|title=Hi everyone.|last=Kine|first=Starlee|date=2016-10-06|website=Starlee Kine|access-date=2019-02-03}}</ref>
==Episodes== {{Episode table |total_width= |overall= |title= |airdate= |airdateT=Original Release Date |episodes= {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 1 | Title = Video Store | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2015|5|21}} | ShortSummary = Laura becomes a member at a video store, rents a video and attempts to return said video the very next day, only to discover the store is completely gone. }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 2 | Title = Britney | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2015|5|30}} | ShortSummary = Andrea's a writer no one reads. Then she makes a shocking discovery. }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 3 | Title = Belt Buckle | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2015|6|5}}<ref>[http://www.columbusalive.com/content/stories/2016/11/10/thelist-12-essential-podcasts.html "The List: A dozen essential podcasts "]. ''Columbus Live''. Joel Oliphint, Nov. 10, 2016</ref> | ShortSummary = A young boy finds an enchanting object in the street. }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 4 | Title = Vanity Plate | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2015|6|14}} | ShortSummary = Starlee and her friend [[Miranda July|Miranda]] get stopped at a red light and see something shocking. }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 5 | Title = Source Code | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2015|6|20}} | ShortSummary = While watching the movie ''[[Source Code (film)|Source Code]]'', [[David Rees (cartoonist)|David]] becomes consumed with a height related mystery. }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 6 | Title = Kotter | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2015|7|31}} | ShortSummary = Jonathan has lunch in a cafeteria. }} }}
==Reception== [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] named ''Mystery Show'' the Best New Podcast of 2015 in their year-end awards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-podcasts-of-2015-according-to-apple-2015-12|title=The best podcasts of 2015, according to Apple|work=Business Insider|first=Nathan|last=McAlone|date=December 28, 2015|accessdate=January 10, 2016}}</ref>
Episode 3 of Season 1, "Belt Buckle", was ranked #1 on ''[[The Atlantic]]''{{'}}s list of the top 50 podcast episodes of 2015, with their summary stating that "the episode is unrelenting in its playfulness and joy, but a sense of profundity lies just beneath the surface, bobbing up in the final minutes, when you won't be sure whether to grin or weep".<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Standley|first1=Laura Jane|last2=McQuade|first2=Eric|last3=Taylor|first3=Devon|date=December 22, 2015|title=The 50 Best Podcast Episodes of 2015|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/12/the-50-best-podcast-episodes-of-2015/421572/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222164630/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/12/the-50-best-podcast-episodes-of-2015/421572/|archive-date=December 22, 2015|access-date=September 26, 2021|website=[[The Atlantic]]|publisher=[[Emerson Collective]]|language=en-US}}</ref> The show has continued to garner acclaim over the years despite not publishing new episodes since 2015; in 2021, ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised the show as “utterly captivating”<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dibdin |first1=Emma |title=7 Podcasts to Binge in a Day |work=The New York Times |date=30 March 2021 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/arts/podcasts-binge.html }}</ref> and in 2022, ''[[The Guardian]]'' described the series as a “podcast classic”.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Duggins |first1=Alexi |last2=Richardson |first2=Hollie |last3=Verdier |first3=Hannah |last4=Aroesti |first4=Rachel |title=Best podcasts of the week: Cate Blanchett gets curious about climate change |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/apr/28/hear-here-cate-blanchett-climate-of-change-podcast |newspaper=The Guardian |date=28 April 2022 }}</ref>
== Hiatus == After the conclusion of Season 1, no new episodes were released. A January update posted to the show's Facebook page stated that Season 2 was "in the works".
In October 2016, Kine published an update to Medium and to the ''Mystery Show'' Facebook page saying that she had been let go from Gimlet Media in April 2016, during the early stages of Season 2's production.<ref name="medium"/> The same day, Gimlet published a blog post stating that ''Mystery'' Show was "unsustainable to produce and publish on a consistent basis, and therefore Gimlet will no longer produce new episodes of ''Mystery Show''. We are in discussions with Starlee to reach an agreement where she may produce ''Mystery Show'' independently of Gimlet."<ref>{{cite web |title=The Future of Mystery Show |url=https://www.gimletmedia.com/news/the-future-of-mystery-show |website=Gimlet Media |accessdate=26 July 2018}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{URL|https://gimletmedia.com/show/mystery-show/|''Mystery Show''}} at [[Gimlet Media]]
{{Gimlet Media |state=collapsed}}
[[Category:Audio podcasts]] [[Category:2015 podcast debuts]] [[Category:Gimlet Media podcasts]] [[Category:2015 podcast endings]] [[Category:American documentary podcasts]] [[Category:Documentary podcasts]]