2000 AD unveils star-studded audio drama Future Shocks adaptations
15th December 2020
Konnie Huq, Rufus Hound, Al Murray, and Janet Ellis are just some of the celebrity voices behind Future Shocks Radio – a brand new series of audio adaptations of classic 2000 AD stories!
2000 AD is proud to announce this new series of half-hour audio dramas based on classic Future Shocks, which will be available exclusively to 2000 AD and Judge Dredd Megazine subscribers!
Future Shocks have been a staple of 2000 AD since 1977, when writer Steve Moore pioneered the short comic book story with a sting in the tail that have seen legendary writers such as Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and Neil Gaiman hone their craft into the pages of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comics.
Now, those classic stories are gaining new life in a series of new podcast interpretations from some of the most exciting new and established talent in audio drama!
Produced by two-time BAFTA winner Nathaniel Tapley (Have I Got News For You, The News Quiz) with an exciting team of writers and creatives, Future Shocks Radio offers bold, witty takes on classic stories with well-known performers like former Blue Peter presenters Konnie Huq and Janet Ellis, comedians Rufus Hound and Al Murray, Eastenders actor Nitin Ganatra, Hollyoaks actor Lizzie Roper, and Spitting Image voice actor Steve Nallon, as well as compelling new voices like 2020 BAFTA-winner Gbemi Ikumelo and a veritable torrent of comic talent.
They will be available to current and future print and digital 2000 AD and Judge Dredd Megazine subscribers to listen for free via the 2000 AD app. To access the free podcasts, subscribers will need to sign-in to the app with their Rebellion ID – the same email they use to control their digital or physical subscription.
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Print and digital subscriptions to 2000 AD and/or the Judge Dredd Megazine are available from the 2000 AD webshop at shop.2000AD.com with monthly, annual, and two-year options.
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The first episode, which goes live on the app on Monday 14 December, is Christmas-themed and is an adaptation of ‘One Christmas During Eternity’ (from 2000 AD Prog 271 in 1982) by Alan Moore and Jesus Redondo and ‘The Star’ (from 2000 AD Prog 297 in 1983) by Chris Lowder and Massimo Bellardinelli, starring Katherine Jakeways, Nitin Ganatra, Steve Nallon, Thomas Tapley, Darren Strange, Lisa Bowerman and Zoe S Battley.
Subsequent episodes will be released in 2021.
Nathaniel Tapley said: “It’s been a real honour to get to work with some of the treasured holy texts of British sci-fi. It’s been incredibly exciting to be able to find some of the most exciting talents at work today, combine them with stories and characters of extraordinary writers and artists, and to get them all to record the whole thing under their duvets as the world outside falls apart.
“Bringing these stories to a new medium with its potential for new audiences feels like a tremendous responsibility, and it’s been amazing to see how the cast and crew have done frankly extraordinary work under difficult conditions. We hope we’ve created something both respectful of the past and new and unique in its own right. Where else can people hear Al Murray as an Australian alien in a story by Alan Moore, Janet Ellis as Nadia, futuristic companion of Blast Barclay in a story by Grant Morrison, or Rufus Hound vigorously pretending to be a car? We’d like to thank Tharg for the opportunity and request that he release our families now.”
Ben Smith, head of publishing at Rebellion, said: “Subscribers are a vital part of 2000 AD and we are always looking for ways to reward them. This year more than any has been incredibly tough for everyone including our own readers, so to be able to give them these podcasts which have been made with such humour and enthusiasm by Natt and his team who have proven themselves to be long-standing admirers of 2000 AD is a real treat. We can’t wait to hear what they make of these first episodes and the rest of the series over the next few months.”
The news comes just days after Penguin Random House announced the first set of 2000 AD series to receive major audiobook adaptations, with Judge Dredd: America, Judge Dredd: The Pit, The Ballad of Halo Jones, Sláine: The Horned God, and Brink, due for release on Audible in 2021.
The Future Shocks that will be featured in these episodes are:
‘Grawks Bearing Gifts’ by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson
‘Dear Mum’ by John Richardson
‘One Christmas During Eternity’ by Alan Moore and Jesus Redondo
‘The Star’ by Chris Lowder (writing as J.H. Teed) and Massimo Bellardinelli
‘Long Live the Queen’ by Kelvin Gosnell and Eric Bradbury
‘The English/Phlondrutian Phrasebook’ by Alan Moore and Brendan McCarthy
‘The Sacrifice’ by Alan Hebden and Mike White
‘A Cautionary Fable’ by Alan Moore and Paul Neary
‘Burping Hitler’ by Rob Williams and Simon Gurr
‘Beware the Men in Black’ by David Perry and Jesus Redondo
‘Robot Repairs’ by Robert Flynn and Brett Ewins & Jim McCarthy
‘Drive He Said’ by Al Ewing and Edison George
‘Spaceland’ by Al Ewing and Edmund Bagwell
‘Blast Barclay’ by Grant Morrison and Mike White
‘Sunburn’ by Alan Moore and Jesus Redondo
‘The Armageddon Game’ by Peter Milligan and Anthony Jozwiak