December 5, 2023
Update
The names of Apple podcasts Wiser than me The best show of the year 2023
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the founders of Lemonade Media reflect on season one.
At the entrance Wiser than me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus From Lomonada Media Hollywood legend Jane Fonda recalled the sudden revelation she had on the eve of her 59th birthday: She was entering the third and final act of her life.
“You know how important third acts are,” Fonda, now 85, told host Julia Louis-Dreyfus early in the episode. “The first two can make sense, right? They’re very important—it’s the kind of legacy you leave behind.”
Just outside the door, Wiser than me It also drew huge audiences on Apple’s podcasts, spending 29 days as the No. 1 show in the U.S. overall — a feat it won’t top until 2023.
Apple is proud to celebrate. Wiser than me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus With the Apple Podcasts Awards, an annual recognition to celebrate excellence and innovation in podcasting. The show’s popularity and accolades are due to its refreshingly authentic approach to highlighting the voices of older, wiser women — a demographic often underrepresented in mainstream culture — and encouraging cross-generational listening.
In the show’s 10-episode first season, accomplished actress and comedian Louis-Dreyfus uses her signature invaluable tips to give women who’ve lived long and lived well a perspective on it all.
As she embarks on a new chapter of her own at age 62, first-time podcast hosts like singer Darlene Love, 82, and author Amy Tan, 71, bring to the microphone laughter, tears and far-fetched conversations that provoke everyone. feeling between.
Louis Dreyfus said of her guests: “All these women showed how to live life. “That’s not to say they’re not wrong, but there’s something about getting older that you feel vulnerable to sharing. And so I’ve taken advantage of the intimacy it offers. Being genuine and open is a great gift.
A large room Wiser than meThe appeal is Louis-Dreyfus’ willingness to be playful and push the boundaries of the typical interview-podcast format, explains Stephanie Whittleswatch, founder of podcast home network and CEO of Lemonade Media. “Julia never wants to have a casual conversation,” she says. “She likes to play and knit and bob, and do all the fun things you’d expect.”
Lemonade founder and CEO Jessica Cordova Kramer credits the reach of Apple podcasts with helping the show reach new audiences. “Apple does a great job of keeping up with what’s going on in the world and helping people learn new things by putting on a variety of shows,” Cordova Kramer explained. “We love our Lemonade premium channel because we now have a bigger scene and for us this audience overlap was a huge translator.”
Amazing success after the first season Wiser than me It’s gearing up for more — Lemonade recently announced that it will launch in early spring 2024.
The show’s organic flow and off-the-cuff structure are exemplified in this first episode, 15 minutes in, when a bombshell interrupts Louis-Dreyfus’ zoomed-in relationship, forcing her to change the rest of the interview with Fonda. The podcast leans toward the moment rather than editing the mess that was created in post-production, taking listeners behind the scenes as the Louis-Dreyfus recorder continues to roll.
“That’s why the show is real. “You’re dealing with someone like Julia who’s so famous and popular, but her Internet is gone, and it gives this amazing look behind the scenes,” says Whittles. I think having it as episode one made it very accessible to audiences, and that energy carries over into the series.
No topic is off-limits to the show’s guests, who come to the microphone with unexpected vulnerability as they discuss their highs and lows, including sex, divorce, politics, sexuality in the workplace, death and the physical realities of aging.
“The magic of it is that Julia is open about her own journey in a way that has never been seen before,” Cordova Kramer added. (In the show’s first season, Louis-Dreyfus spoke to guests about her struggles after losing a pregnancy, as well as her experience with breast cancer in 2017.)
The Lomonada team explains that the podcasting medium lends itself to conversations that Louis-Dreyfus was particularly interested in. “These women don’t have to worry about hair and makeup,” says Cordova Kramer. “You can go into their bedrooms, their hotel rooms — anywhere in their busy lives — and have a beautiful conversation with this amazing interviewer that’s less guarded and allows for more authenticity.”
One particularly memorable moment for Louis-Dreyfus was when she sat down with one of her lifelong comedy influences for the season finale.
“Carol Burnett was such a big part of my life growing up that I didn’t even know she was a big part of my life,” Louis-Dreyfus explained. “She was part of our culture. And as a woman, she embodies the feminine power that has unwittingly seeped into my bones.
In his unapologetic, raw conversations, Wiser than me It’s prompting people in their 20s, 30s and beyond to rethink their views on aging.
“There’s a lot of fear when it comes to getting older, and I think the podcast makes people excited about that. It’s making it less scary. It’s making it accessible,” Whittles says. “There’s a concrete art that we hope people will take away. And that inspirational art is people are getting like, ‘Oh, old age. Oh my god – that’s great. I want to do that. I want to be like these women.’
Often, some of the show’s most heartwarming moments come courtesy of a post-interview scene where Louis Dreyfus calls 89-year-old Judith to talk to her mother and continue the conversation.
“Jodit is a pearl – a priceless pearl. She’s incredible, and she’s everyone’s favorite,” says Whittleswatch. “Julia is eating it up, and so is Judith. I think it encourages a kind of mutual dialogue. And that’s what we want – women in their 20s to tell their mothers and grandmothers about their experiences.
be happy A look behind the scenes To hear Julia meet Judith Wiser than me It is known as the best show of the year. Subscribe and follow Lemonada Premium for bonus episodes with every guest from episode 1 Wiser than me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus On Apple Podcasts to be notified when Season 2 premieres in Spring 2024.
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