Actor Ethan Hawke has launched his first podcast, a scripted supernatural horror series titled "Midnight Radio," which debuted just ahead of Halloween. The nine-episode series follows a late-night conspiracy-themed call-in show set in the United States, with Hawke portraying the weary host. The storyline centers on a caller claiming involvement in a secret American space mission that predated Yuri Gagarin’s historic flight, only to experience a disorienting temporal distortion that unsettles reality itself—a cover-up the government allegedly conceals.

The narrative unfolds in real time across the episodes, gradually revealing a complex plot that incorporates elements such as war-related horrors, interdimensional breaches, ghost recordings, and a hidden barrier between worlds. The podcast format uses the phone-in show concept to interweave various eerie accounts and characters, supported by an ensemble cast including Noah Centineo, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Levon Hawke, son of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman.

Ethan Hawke serves as the central figure guiding the audience through the mysterious storyline, delivering a compelling and convincing performance. Known for his varied career since the early 1990s, Hawke continues to expand his creative range, demonstrating a keen interest in the horror genre. "Midnight Radio" is penned by Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, the writing team behind Hawke’s 2012 film "Sinister"—a movie recently identified by the Science of Scare Project as the scariest film of all time based on audience heart rate monitoring. Derrickson and Cargill also collaborated with Hawke on the 2021 horror film "The Black Phone."

Hawke has praised Derrickson and Cargill as “two of the best writers I’ve ever worked with,” reflecting his strong professional relationship with the duo. The success of "Midnight Radio" highlights the potential of audio-only horror storytelling, which relies heavily on imagination and atmosphere to create an intimate and unsettling experience for listeners. Producing a horror narrative without visuals allows writers and audiences to explore fear with fewer constraints, resulting in a distinct and immersive form of storytelling.