Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Show Renewed As Lemonada Unveils Star-Powered Fall Slate.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus will return for a fourth season of her hit podcast Wiser Than Me, says Lemonada Media, which announced the renewal as part of a slate of new shows set for release in the coming months. The network says it will also debut a new podcast hosted by Broadway icon Mandy Patinkin that will be a family affair as he will host the series alongside his wife, actor and writer Kathryn Grody, and with the help of their son, Gideon. It is the first slate announced since PodX Group, the Stockholm-based international podcast company, in May bought a majority stake in Lemonada Media in a deal reportedly worth about $30 million. 

“Lemonada has, from its inception, been about content and community, with podcasts at the center of what we do. As the industry, talent, audience and brand needs evolve around us, we are evolving too. Making life suck less at scale means delivering Lemonada’s best-in-class storytelling in a full array of channels,” CEO Jessica Cordova Kramer says. “We are able to successfully create, market and monetize in audio, video, and social media, and our slate of new shows for the fall will enable us to continue accelerating our growth in all these channels and across the world alongside the PodX collective.”

The network says it is on track to grow another 50% this year based on downloads and views alone. Revenue is also growing at a similar pace. As the company grows, a multichannel approach has become an increasing part of its strategy. Video views have grown 300% across the network in the past three months alone, with new video-first series, such as Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know, The Dan Buettner Podcast, and Podcrushed, as well as shows like Fail Better with David Duchovny and The Sarah Silverman Podcast that have added full video simulcast in recent months.

As part of that expansion, Patinkin and his family will host a weekly advice series called Don’t Listen To Us. In a joint statement, Patinkin and Grody say they hope listeners will find some humor or relief in hanging out with them as they also discover how similar everyone’s struggles really are. “It’s strange, flattering, wonderful, and confusing that people want to hear from us,” they say. Episodes will be available in video simulcast on YouTube as well as audio episodes across all platforms when it debuts Oct. 15.

“Mandy, Kathryn and Gideon’s family videos on Instagram made life suck less for so many during the pandemic, and their heartfelt view of the world continues to warm our hearts across the world,” says Lemonada Chief Creative Officer Stephanie Wittels Wachs. “We are thrilled to be able to deliver a video experience that brings you right into the room with the family, alongside content that will make you laugh and cry in the same episode.”

Additional shows launching this fall include Alive, hosted by original “Blue’s Clues” host Steve Burns. It is set to debut next week (Sept. 17). Each week, a new guest drops by for what they say will be a “genuine and respectful dialogue” between two people just trying to figure life’s big questions out, together.

Also debuting next week is a new series hosted by Chelsea Clinton. The former First Daughter turned public health expert will host a show called That Can’t Be True. She will interview doctors, dietitians, and wellness professionals to separate legitimate health concerns from dangerous misinformation. It is a follow-up to her earlier podcast In Fact, which also took on public health issues. That Can’t Be True launches Sept. 18.

Then on Sept. 23, Lori Gottlieb and Gretchen Rubin will debut their advice show Since You Asked. Each week, two friends — a happiness researcher and a therapist — tackle the daily problems of living. It is a second Lemonada show for Rubin, who also hosts the Happier podcast, which is also focused on giving advice about happiness and good habits.

Also on tap for this fall is a second season of the Squeezed podcast. Hosted by actress and caregiver Yvette Nicole Brown, the show looks at caregiving over the course of a lifetime, exploring the lives of everyday people, spotlighting the daily dramas, hardships and joys of caregiving across America.