| Genre: | Mystery Supernatural horror Drama Horror podcast |
| Creator: | Joseph Fink |
| Narrated: | Jasika Nicole Erica Livingston Roberta Colindrez |
| Language: | English |
| Opentheme: | "Le Petit Bleu de la Côte Ouest" by Disparition[1] |
| Num Seasons: | 3 |
| First Aired: | March 8, 2016 |
| Last Aired: | August 28, 2018 |
Alice Isn't Dead is a supernatural mystery horror podcast/radio drama created by Joseph Fink partnering with Night Vale Presents. It stars Jasika Nicole as Keisha, who broadcasts on a radio signal her experiences on her road trip across America to locate her missing wife, Alice, which leads to her uncovering several mysteries and conspiracies of a supernatural nature.[2]
During its run, the podcast typically aired on alternating Tuesdays. The first season ended on July 12, 2016, with a second season premiering on April 4, 2017, which concluded on August 8, 2017. Fink stated that the third season would be the final season; it began airing on April 24, 2018, and concluded in August 2018.[3] The podcast received positive reviews, and was nominated for a few awards. In 2018, Fink published a novel version of the story.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, Joseph Fink explained that the inspiration for the podcast came from his experiences traveling around in vans on long trips, particularly in the United States, for the live shows of his popular podcast Welcome to Night Vale.[2] The series puts particular focus on the narrator driving through towns without stopping and spending time at rest stops along the highway. All ten episodes of the first season were written by Fink, with music by Disparition.
Jasika Nicole, the voice of Keisha Taylor, also appears on Welcome to Night Vale in the role of Dana Cardinal.[4] [5] She was pitched Alice Isn't Dead during a conversation with Fink before one of the Night Vale live shows and signed on immediately, receiving scripts a few months later.[2] The first season was partially funded through sponsored advertising by Audible Inc., Squarespace, Casper Sleep, and Blue Apron – a practice that would continue with other series under the Night Vale Presents banner such as Within the Wires and The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air).
Roberta Colindrez, who appeared in the original cast of Fun Home and was a member of the Neo-Futurists alongside much of the Night Vale Presents crew, makes an uncredited voice cameo in the finale of Part 1.[6] She makes her first credited appearance as this character in the bonus episode "Haugen, Montana", narrating in place of Jasika Nicole, before making an appearance in the premiere of Part 2. Erica Livingston, also a former Neo-Futurist, makes an uncredited voice cameo as the titular Alice in the finale of Part 2, before making her first credited appearance as the character narrating the bonus episode "Mérida, Yucatán".
During the lead ups to the releases of Part 2 and Part 3, short bonus episodes were released to advertise the podcast's return.
Another live show, entitled "The Finish Line", was performed at Live at the Coronet in Los Angeles on April 27, 2019, and was released digitally on November 14, 2019.[7]
As part of the Patreon campaign for Part 3, several bonus episodes were released to patrons of the show.[8] On October 14, 2019, the first four Patreon exclusive episodes were released publicly as a compilation episode called "The Window & The Mirror".
Joseph Fink published a novel version of Alice Isn't Dead on November 20, 2018. A hardcover edition of this book was published in 2018 by Harper-Collins Publishers. It was copyrighted in 2018 by Joseph Fink. The letter to the reader was copyrighted in 2021 by Joseph Fink. First Harper Perennial paperback edition published 2021. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for. The ISBN is 978-0-06-284414-9 (pbk.)[9]
Cassandra Khaw of Ars Technica positively reviewed the first three episodes, stating that the series "very quickly comes into its own, dropping any pretence of gallows humour for the kind of creeping, consuming terror that pervades the best horror movies."[10] Neil Verma compared the modus operandi of the Thistle Man, the series' antagonist who follows its narrator as she drives across America, to that of the eponymous villain in Lucille Fletcher's 1941 radio play The Hitch-Hiker.[11]
| Year | Award | Category | Reciptiant | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Audio Verse Awards | Best Production for an Ongoing, Dramatic, Production | Podcast | [12] | |
| 2018 | S.P.C. Awards | Earphones Award Winner | Audiobook | [13] | |
| 2019 | iHeartRadio Podcast Awards | Best Scripted Podcast | Podcast | [14] | |
| Lambda Literary Awards | Lesbian Mystery | Podcast | [15] |
A television adaptation of the podcast was in development for USA Network by Universal Cable Productions.[16] The series would have been written and executive produced by Kyle Bradstreet, who would have served as showrunner.[17] [18] Fink would have written for and executive produced the show. The show was ultimately not picked up.