HORROR, HILARITY, & HISTORICAL FICTION!
The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program is Omniverse’s award-winning horror comedy where eldritch nightmares writhe from the shadows, unholy rituals warp reality, and unlikely heroes of dubious moral fiber risk their sanity to keep the world spinning.
In this audio drama podcast, anything can happen and our cast actually lives the terror. Each series is a standalone tale woven into Lovecraftian lore, real world histories, and our own sinister continuity. The tension is high and the fear is real: we combine the collaborative storytelling of tabletop roleplaying with cinematic sound design, original score, and scripted audio fiction to unleash immersive and visceral journeys like no other.
Our stories explore the cosmic horror of legendary author H.P. Lovecraft in new and uncanny ways. In opposition to Lovecraft’s bigoted and myopic views, Mystery Program features characters from marginalized backgrounds, depicted respectfully. Humanity’s hate and fear is the ultimate enemy and through our queer lens, not every unknown being is a monster.
The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program debuted in 2015 as a miniseries - an experiment in melding live actual play with modern audio drama. It was a surprise hit, and in 2018 was relaunched as an on-going production, released in seasons. These chilling tales are proudly told using Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu tabletop roleplaying game, the wits of our cast and crew, and the generous support of our Patrons.
BEST IMPROVISED PRODUCTION
2019 ∙ 2022
BEST ACTION SOUND DESIGN
2019
BEST PLAYER DIRECTION
2019 ∙ 2022
BEST ACTOR
BRANDON GERSON ∙ 2022
OUTSTANDING HORROR/THIRLLER | OUTSTANDING ACTUAL PLAY
BEST SERIES PREMISE OF A NARRATIVE FICTION PODCAST | BEST ANTHOLOGY
BEST ACTION SOUND DESIGN OF A NARRATIVE FICTION PODCAST
BEST SOUND DESIGN OF AN ACTUAL PLAY | BEST EDITING OF A NARRATIVE FICTION PODCAST BEST EDITING OF AN ACTUAL PLAY | BEST COVER ART | BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC IN AN ACTUAL PLAY
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
“I didn’t believe stories told through audio could be better than visual media forms. I’m so happy I’m wrong!”
Manda Mikala, USA
Apple Podcasts 3/25/19
"By far and away the most cinematic podcast I've ever listened to... It perfectly balances between actual play and audio drama"
Episode 7: The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program 10/26/20
"It has RUINED me for other actual play podcasts."
Mark.kamensek
Podchaser 7/29/23
“[Sets] the bar for podcasting quality, content, and creativity. I don’t know if I’ve heard a story told better - certainly not on a podcast.”
Ehiker133, USA
Apple Podcasts 6/24/19
"Puts a flag in the ground with it’s well versed voice acting [and] fantastic stories that both chill and excite.”
x666nightmare, USA
Apple Podcasts 5/21/20
MEET THE TEAM
CAT BLACKARD
Cat Blackard is a multidisciplinary artist and multimedia storyteller. She’s the Mother Brain of Omniverse, her media company focused on genre-bending storytelling, and is the recipient of the 2019 and 2022 Audio Verse Award for Best Player Direction of a Production.
Cat’s career in podcasting and journalism spans over a decade: Hosting the long running games and hobbies podcast, Nerdy Show, pioneering improvisational audio drama podcasts, voice acting in beloved shows like Moonbase Theta, Out and Midnight Burger, serving as Art Director, Podcast Network Director, and a staff writer for Consequence of Sound, and conducting in-depth interviews with her favorite creators of all-time.
She’s determined to fill the world with uplifting and transformative stories that go to strange places and ask big questions.
Showrunner & Co-Author
Keeper Luke Stram has over 20 years of game mastering experience, including more than a decade of writing and running The Call of Cthulhu and Paranoia convention LARPs. He spent years as the lead researcher for Ripley's Believe It or Not! and once bought a box of pig's heads to experiment with the Shuar tsantsa (shrunken head) creation process.
He is the recipient of the 2019 and 2022 Audio Verse Award for Best Player Direction of a Production.
Keeper of Arcane Lore & Co-Author
LUKE STRAM
Colin is an award-winning sound designer (Best Action Sound Design, 2019 AudioVerse Awards), a professional theatrical projection designer, and is the Director of Education at Nashville Children's Theatre (NCT). He and Cat's creative partnership goes back to preschool and their lifelong bond is sealed in matching tattoos. Their podcast collaborations include genre-defining work on series like Dungeons and Doritos, and now to Omniverse and Mystery Program.
Colin is based in Nashville, TN and his full-stage production and sound design work has shown in over 35 productions at fine professional establishments including NCT, Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Actor's Bridge Ensemble, and Nashville REP.
Sound Designer
COLIN PETERSON
ORIGINAL SCORE
Mystery Program’s score is overseen by award-winning composer Ryan McQuinn (Global Music Awards and Prestige Music Awards) and co-written by his brother, Mike McQuinn. They got their start in podcasts working alongside Cat and Colin on their debut RPG audio drama, Dungeons & Doritos. In 2013, Ryan launched Neon Dolphin, his music design company. He's since worked on video game and podcast projects such as Lotia, Liberty: Vigilance, Dark Dice, Interstellar Space: Genesis, Lightning Dogs, and Axe Cop.
Illustrations by Jarrod Pope
This production observes Omniverse's Diversity, Inclusion, and Representation Policy and Harassment Reporting Policy.