Production and branded content company Will Packer Media has aligned with iHeartMedia to launch “The Lower Bottoms,” a scripted shadowy podcast series told through the voices that make up a quickly gentrifying neighborhood in West Oakland, CA.
The 10-episode series is the first production from the companies’ recently announced partnership, which will develop a slate of original scripted and unscripted podcasts for the iHeartPodcast Network. The official trailer for “The Lower Bottoms” is available Wednesday, with the first episode launching July 20 on all major podcast platforms.
Narrated by actor Kelsey Grammer, the new series centers on intensifying tensions in the Bay Area’s Lower Bottoms, “where newcomers and natives clash amid a troubling rise of vandalism and arson,” according to a release. Each episode “inches closer to revealing the perpetrator of these crimes, though discovering their identity turns out to be anything but simple.”
The show was created and written by Dominique Mouton, and produced by Will Packer, James Lopez and Joelle Monique for iHeartRadio and Jack Levy, who also directs the series. “When writer/creator Dominique and director/producer Jack sent me the pitch materials and proof of concept audio for ‘The Lower Bottoms’ I was hooked,” says Lopez, President of Will Packer Productions. “Dominique's writing is vivid and colorful and easily translated to the audio format. The cast we were able to put together was a testament to the material. We are fortunate to have found this great piece as our first narrative podcast and are excited to partner with iHeartMedia to introduce it to listeners everywhere.”
Adds Will Pearson, COO for the iHeartPodcast Network, “I can’t think of a better show to kick off our partnership with Will Packer Media. The series offers a little bit of everything: compelling characters, surprising twists, dark comedy and the legendary talents of Kelsey Grammer guiding us through the unmistakable atmosphere of the Bay Area. We’re excited for listeners to experience this richly realized world and hear the stories its characters have to tell.”
The iHeartMedia and Will Packer Media partnership builds on the success of the true crime podcast “Fight Night,” which launched in October 2020.