For most actors, coming off a hit television show means you’re immediately searching for the next hit series to be on. But for Becca Tobin, the end of “Glee” marked the beginning of her podcasting career – and she says there was definitely a “stigma” surrounding her choice.
As part of this year’s TheGrill conference hosted by TheWrap, Tobin joined a panel along with “The Dropout” showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether, “WeCrashed” showrunner Lee Eisenberg, Rachel Ghiazza, EVP and Head of US Content at Audible, Steve Ackerman, EVP and Co-head of Global Podcasts for Sony Music, and Will Malnati, Founder & CEO of At Will Media to discuss how podcasts have quickly become Hollywood’s new goldmine. Tobin has hosted “The LadyGang Podcast” alongside Jac Vanek and Keltie Knight since 2015, the same year “Glee” wrapped on Fox.
“My biggest challenge was getting over the mockery that was made of me when I was leaving ‘Glee,’ and all of my cast members were like, ‘You’re gonna what? You’re gonna podcast?’” Tobin recalled during the panel. “And now all of them are doing them, but that’s neither here nor there. But yeah, it was hard to get rid of the stigma, a little bit, after coming off of a hit show and starting something so bizarre, at the time.”
That said, Tobin wasn’t phased by it too much back then, and certainly isn’t now, admitting, “I love being underestimated.”
But where some might think getting a podcast off the ground would’ve been difficult coming off a TV show, Tobin noted that it’s probably harder to do so in 2022 than it was seven years ago.
“We were so early that to get signed with Podcast One, we kind of just had to have a pulse,” Tobin joked. “It wasn’t as competitive a space. It was like, mind-blowing to them that three women wanted to start a podcast. So we did just get — the timing, for the first time in my whole life, was right.”
Of course nowadays, it certainly is a competitive space. More and more people are starting podcasts, in all different niches. But for what it’s worth, Rachel Ghiazza, EVP and Head of US Content at Audible, doesn’t think there could ever truly be too many podcasts.
“One of the things I really like about podcasting is that there really is something for everybody. But finding that something for you is a really critically important part,” Ghiazza said. “And as somebody who’s thinking about the types of content, we always start with a customer approach. So understanding, really who our customers are, what they want, what they love, and then getting that content to them. That really is the trick that I think we’re all thinking about, but doing it in unexpected, creative ways.”
On the production side of things, Will Malnati is certainly starting to see those creative methods pay off.
“I think platforms right now are starting to really kind of understand, in my opinion, what they’re good at, and then trying to double down, kind of, in those areas,” Malnati added. “So you’re seeing that, from Audible to Amazon to Apple, they’re starting to see what they can do well, and then it feels like that’s where they’re moving towards in a fast way.”
You can watch TheWrap’s full podcasting panel from The Grill in the video above.
About TheGrill
For over a decade, WrapPRO’s Grill event series has led the conversation on the convergence between entertainment, media and technology, bringing together newsmakers to debate the challenges and opportunities facing content in the digital age. Tailored to a C-suite and innovative, forward thinking attendees, the event delivers a unique series of curated discussions, industry panels and virtual networking activations that explore the ever-changing media landscape. For more information about TheGrill visit thegrill.thewrap.com
TheGrill 2022 sponsors include Loeb & Loeb, City National Bank, Gracenote, Warner Bros. Discovery, Gerber Kawasaki, Sony Pictures, Take-Two Interactive, SAG-AFTRA, New York Festivals, Samba TV and IMAX.
