On the lam! Slackers race to find a fugitive in fictional action-adventure series ‘Unwanted’
The race is on with QCODE’s “Unwanted,” a scripted fiction podcast about two slackers hunting for a convicted murderer on the lam. Starring Lamorne Morris as Ben, Billy Magnussen as Grant, and Jamie-Lee O’Donnell as Shelly the criminal, this 8-episode series blends drama and comedy, nodding to classic action-adventure films à la Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Before interviewing “Excuse Me, That’s Illegal’s” Leroy Luna in a recent episode of Podsauce, Alesha shares “Unwanted,” as her pick of the week. “Unwanted” was created by Lamorne and producer Kyle Shevrin during quarantine, and Alesha was elated to voice one of the characters. Alesha and Dax also are fans of the theme song, written and performed by Rick Astley. Rick Rolled memes aside, we have to give him credit for writing some pretty slick tunes!
The first episode listens in as Shelly breaks out of jail and the prison guards realize they have a runner! The scene pans to a club and we’re introduced to slackers Ben and Grant chilling and trying to enjoy themselves, despite being down on their luck. There, we hear from Adriana who works at the club, voiced by Alesha Renee.
Fate comes to play when Ben and Grant hit the road, nearly kill Shelly, and give her a ride home. Later on, they hear about the jailbreak and realize they let Shelly get away. With a million dollar reward set by authorities to turn in the fugitive, Ben and Grant are propelled into action. They might just be ready to leave their slacker ways behind.
By the second episode, Ben and Grant devise a plan to find Shelly. Shelly locates one of her previous affiliates and asks to be aided and abetted. Competition is underway as Ben and Grant aren’t the only two searching for Shelly. A Canadian couple is ready to fight tooth-and-nail to follow every lead and beat Ben and Grant to find Shelly first and bag the reward. Along the way, the slackers meet one of Shelly’s abductees, Kate, who agrees to tag-team their cause. Shelly goes right back to her killer ways, leaving a trail of blood, and meets up with her old bud, Darko.
The slackers camp out at Grant’s girlfriend’s house. When they realize Grant’s mom is in danger, do they get sidetracked from their original mission? Do the slackers find Shelly and earn the reward? We’ll have to tune in to find out.
There are many surprises along the way this season, both in plot turns and character voices. You’ll likely recognize Lamorne’s voice from playing Winston on New Girl. Billy starred in the new Aladdin movie, which Podsauce host Dax watched with his kids. “Unwanted’s” cast also stars Rose McIver, Ron Funches, Anna Camp, Jessica Chaffin, Flula Borg, and King Bach.
“Unwanted” is a great listen for fans of action, true crime, and drama podcasts with blockbuster sound effects that coincide with the story. All eight episodes are now available to stream wherever you listen to your podcasts!
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