Award-winning podcast company Campside Media has partnered with Pacesetter Productions, founded by Black Mirror executive producer Jessica Rhoades, to co-produce a new true crime series launching this December, according to a report by Deadline.
The podcast, titled Kelly and the Satanic Panic, will deep dive into the story of the 1980s Wee Care Nursery School child abuse trial and nurse Kelly Michaels, who was convicted on multiple accounts of sexual abuse and participating in satanic rituals, and sent to prison for five years before being exonerated in 1993. The podcast will reportedly have direct access to Michaels.
Kelly and the Satanic Panic is set to launch on 7 December and will be released as a stand-alone story as part of Campside Media’s Infamous podcast franchise, which deep-dives into the biggest scandals of the century. The series will be presented by Campside Media co-founder Vanessa Grigoriadis and Natalie Robehmed, writer of hit podcast series WeCrashed.
“QAnon conspiracies about a shadowy Democratic cabal kidnapping children and torturing them owe their provenance to Kelly’s story,” said Grigoriadis. “Every decade needs its own folk devil, and in the 1980s, the winds of fate cast a day-care teacher in New Jersey in the role.”
“We have been wanting to work with Jessica since the formation of Campside,” said Campside co-founder Adam Hoff. “To be able to bring this to life and elevate both Kelly’s story and Max’s vision at the same time through the unique skills of Vanessa and the Infamous team is one of the things that makes Campside such a rewarding venture. One plus one really can equal three at times.”
The series will be available to listen to all at once for subscribers of Sony Music Entertainment’s The Binge channel, which is available on Apple Podcasts. The podcast will be led by Pacesetter manager Bryan Daly, who previously worked as the drama development coordinator at CBS Corporation. Pacesetter first brought the idea to Campside Media with Max Perry, writer and producer of Netflix limited series The Spy.
There are no plans announced yet on potential TV or documentary adaptations of Kelly and The Satanic Panic, but Pacesetter is currently working on a number of projects with production companies like A24, Netflix, Amazon, and more.
“The moment we first met with Max, we wanted to learn more about Kelly’s story,” said Rhoades. “Memory is so fascinating and this case really centres on how fallible our recollection is.”
“Based on Campside’s previous work in this space and Vanessa Grigoriadis’ credentials, we knew they would be the perfect partner on this incredible project.”
