Meadowlark Media to produce a season of the BBC’s ‘Sports Strangest Crimes’ podcast

In news that marks an expansion on several levels, Meadowlark Media will produce a series for the BBC’s “Sports Strangest Crimes” podcast.

The podcast will mark both an international production for Meadowlark and a major original storytelling feature. Set for release in February 2022, this season of the ongoing BBC podcast will focus on Anthony Curcio, the former college football player whose injury led to a painkiller addiction and life of crime to feed that painkiller addiction, culminating in an elaborate Brink’s truck heist.

In other words, a fascinating podcast subject.

Via Meadowlark’s release:

Meadowlark Media today announced that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has commissioned a new podcast for Sport’s Strangest Crimes, the fourth installment in a series that combines great sport stories with true crime. This marks the first opportunity for Meadowlark to create content for the United Kingdom and its first original story development since founders John Skipper and Dan Le Batard established the company. 

Slated for a release in February 2022, Meadowlark will produce an eight-episode podcast series telling the story of Anthony Curcio, a standout athlete and the mind behind one of the most elaborate heists in U.S. history. Meadowlark Head of Audio Carl Scott, a veteran of Storycorps, WNYC and The Players’ Tribune, will oversee the project. 

“We are thrilled to work with the BBC on Meadowlark’s first major original audio production,” said Scott. “The quality of their programming is emblematic of the rich storytelling that we’ll be generating at Meadowlark. Curcio’s story captures perfectly how sports can and so often do, illuminate the world around us.” 

The BBC podcast recently wrapped up a series on the saga of Shergar, the racehorse kidnapped by the IRA in 1983. (That series is narrated by Vanilla Ice, too, which is quite the mashup.) Projects like these will likely be a big part of Meadowlark’s portfolio going forward, and that their first production is for the BBC is a pretty big sign that the new company has quality talent in place.

[Meadowlark]