Apple Podcasts Names Hysterical Show of the Year 2024

Apple Podcasts just named its 2024 show of the year. It's a limited-run show called Hysterical that tells a gripping story. Here are all the details.

Limited series debuted in July and became an instant hit

Hysterical is a seven-part limited series from Wondery with an intriguing premise:

Hysterical investigates a mysterious illness that is spreading among a group of high school girls in upstate New York.

The show debuted earlier this year in July as the #1 show on Apple Podcasts. It finished the year as the #9 best show of the year.

Apple interviewed the creator about the origins of the series.

Creator Dan Taberski was compelled to pursue the story when news began to surface about “Havana Syndrome,” a mysterious illness that had struck thousands of diplomats and seasoned CIA agents around the world. He recalled a story about a group of high school girls in Le Roy, New York, who had contracted another mysterious illness a few years earlier. Attracted by the potential parallels between these unlikely groups of people, he wondered, “What if this is a hysterical illness?”

Questions in an interview with the creator

For those interested in podcasting, Apple has a long conversation with Taberski on the Apple Podcasts for Creators site. It includes the following questions:

What advice can you give to someone trying to create a limited series?
Do you have any advice for podcasters on how they can channel their own voice when writing for the ear?
How do you know when you have an idea for a multi-episode series versus a one-episode story?
How do you plot a serialized story? How do you think about storytelling and plotting across multiple episodes?
Before podcasting, you worked in television and film. What do you think podcasting has to offer in terms of storytelling that other media can't?

Last year's show of the year was Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Wiser Than Me. If you're looking for more podcast recommendations, Apple recently released the best shows of the year in a variety of categories.

You can listen to Hysterical now on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Have you listened to Hysterical? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.