Podcast Preview

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue

Format & Tone

Wayward Guide is a 10 episode quarter hour live-action series and an 11 episode narrative podcast. Like Serial/S-Town meets the game One Night Ultimate Werewolf, with the surreal comedy of Pushing Daisies. Wayward Guide is absurd and larger-than-life, with an earnest and grounded emotional through line.

Through both the visual and audio mediums, audiences will be able to experience Wayward Guide from multiple perspectives: the polished, curated podcast story and the messy telling of how everything really went down. Both the podcast and the series will exist independently. But together, audiences will gain an exponentially enriched narrative full of werewolves, deceptions, and thrills.

SynoPsis

Artemis, a tenacious and stubborn podcast host, has grown tired of the fluff pieces she’s been assigned by APN, the American Podcasting Network. When she finds herself in the small mining town of Connor Creek with Paul (her producer and twin brother), the corporate corruption story they’re investigating is sure to be a bust. To the twins’ surprise, the oddballs and eccentrics of this small town are harboring a secret even darker and furrier than any political scandal: werewolves. With the future of Connor Creek at stake, the Schue-Horyn twins need to decide who to trust in order to unearth the truth and stay alive.

The production of Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye was made possible by the fanatic support of 2,474 backers on Kickstarter.

The impetus behind writing and producing this story was our love of investigative journalism podcasts like Serial and S-Town. In the last few years, podcast storytelling has hit its stride in a fascinating and exciting way. Companies like This American Life, Earwolf, & Gimlet Media have tapped this format to bring us stories we would have never heard otherwise.

But the questions always remain: What is the story behind the story? What facts were redacted? Was anything purposefully rephrased? Is there a truth behind the evasive conclusions? Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye was conceived to explore these questions with our own twisted comedic style.

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Episode 1 - THE WOLF AT THE DOOR

Artemis (Mary Kate Wiles), a tenacious and driven podcaster, has her eye on the host position for the hit anthology series, The Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye. After a mysterious visit to her office from Ryan Reynolds (Darren Criss) claiming a potentially dangerous corruption scandal in his small mining town of Connor Creek, Artemis and her twin brother and producer, Paul (Steve Zaragoza), are assigned to the job by their erratic boss, Lesly (Sean Astin).

Dismayed by what she believes to be a bad lead from an unreliable source, but not willing to squander the biggest opportunity of her career, Artemis and Paul head to the the town to do some digging. After suffering car troubles, they are picked up by local sheriff Madison Reynolds (Joanna Sotomura) and taken to the Dead Canary, Connor Creek’s Bar and Inn. There, they track down the bartender/innkeeper, Desmond (Dylan Saunders), who informs the twins that Ryan isn’t the crazy yokel they thought, but a local activist running for a vacant seat on the town council and the the brother of Sheriff Reynolds. That night, Ryan is found mysteriously mauled to death on Main Street and what seemed like a standard journalistic investigation begins to get interesting.

Episode 2 - WELCOME TO CONNOR CREEK

The next day, Artemis and Paul interview the town’s oddballs and eccentrics over the presence of mining corporation Miner Mole Inc in their town. With the upcoming election that will decide the fate of the company just days away and the only candidate opposing the mining expansion dead, they are fiercely divided. Newcomer politician Truman Hensley (Cassie Silva), a centrist in favor of bringing industry to the sleepy town of Connor Creek, is a shoo-in for the position.

Later, while touring the office of town historian, Aubrey Dockweiler (Nick Lang), the twins uncover a mysterious, old book concerning the secrets of Connor Creek. Several page about the town’s history of werewolves are ripped out and Paul develops a theory that Ryan’s death was caused by the supernatural.

Episode 3 - MINER SETBACK

With Sheriff Reynolds broken up over the death of her brother, Artemis works to connect Miner Mole Executive Silas Torsen (Titus Makin) to Truman’s campaign, convinced that Ryan’s death is foul play as a result of his political leanings.

Paul’s more “out-there” theories about werewolves lead him on an investigation of his own and create a riff between him and his sister. After an argument with Artemis about which lead to chase, he finds himself at the scene of an attack, where another vocal opponent of the mining expansion is murdered and Paul is seriously wounded.

Episode 4 - ON THE TRAIL

As Paul recovers, he experiences strange fever dreams that imply he himself is transforming into a werewolf. In the meantime, Artemis sits in on a town hall meeting and finally gets the evidence she’s been looking for: Silas has been wiring large amounts of money to Truman’s campaign. After a verbal explosion from Madison at the meeting, Artemis recklessly inserts herself into the town’s politics by pushing Madison to run for town council in her brother’s stead. Artemis is no longer an impartial presence in the town.

Later that night, Artemis tries to talk Madison out of running against Truman. Based on the pattern of the killings, anyone who opposes Miner Mole seems to be in danger and Artemis would hate to put her new friend in harm’s way. Silas stops by to taunt and intimidate the women from participating in the following day’s election. Artemis steps outside for some fresh air, fired up by Silas’ despicable comments. She notices what looks like odd shaped footprints on the ground and follows them to an old cabin deep in the woods. There, she comes upon a gathering of werewolves. Paul has been right the entire time!

Episode 5 - CRYING WOLF

Artemis hides in the darkness, recorder in hand, spying on the werewolves. Much to her surprise, it seems they are just as confused as everyone else as to who has been killing the townsfolk. Her phone goes off, betraying her position, and she is chased through the woods and back into the town by one of the werewolves. She trips and just as she is about to be overcome, the bar empties for the night and the wolf is scared back in the woods.

When Artemis awakes late the following afternoon, the election results are already in: Truman has won in a landslide and in her first act as head of the council, approved digging in the mines. Artemis walks outside to find that the previous night's eyewitness accounts of werewolves have spread pandemonium throughout the town. The local mailman (Brendan Bradley) has also been found dead.

Episode 6 - ELECTIVE MEMORY

Paul, on the mend, goes with Artemis to interview the town on the most recent happenings. The werewolf rumors have thrown the town into a frenzy. At an emergency town hall meeting, the townsfolk argue about what to do and blame Artemis for bringing misfortune to their town. The discussion gets heated and seems like it might get violent, when suddenly the doors burst open and Barney Fletcher (Dan Strauss), the roadside attraction owner, stumbles in dripping with blood. He collapses and dies. Mass hysteria ensues.

Episode 7 - Grin and Bare It

For the last few deniers it is now painfully clear that werewolves are murdering the citizens of Connor Creek. The newly appointed Truman proposes a town curfew and extends an olive branch to the vulnerable Sheriff Madison, assigning her head of a werewolf hunting task force. The town, for the most part, finally seems to agree on something, but the whole thing doesn’t sit right with Artemis and Paul.

Back in their room, the twins are at odds about how best to proceed. Paul wants to hightail it out of there, but Artemis has never felt more alive and is ready to double down. This is the sort of story she has always dreamed of covering, and even though it’s dangerous, they are now a part of it. Their talk is interrupted by a group of townsfolk who admit a shocking truth: they are, in fact, several of the werewolves living in secret and are innocent of anything to do with these murders. With the town out for blood, the werewolves think their best strategy is to make an alliance with Artemis

Episode 8 - Sheep's Clothing

Artemis finally confronts Silas Torsen, still convinced that he is behind the deaths and somehow manipulating the werewolves to do his bidding for political gain. Meanwhile, Paul and the other werewolves head to Sheriff Madison to expose the truth and, hopefully, make her their ally.

As Silas tries to shake Artemis and leave town, Truman arrives at his office and rips his beating heart from his chest.

Episode 9 - Belly of the Beast

Truman transforms into a white werewolf in front of Artemis and it is revealed that she is the true puppet master, acting alone in the brutal killings. It turns out that she is the last remaining member of the McMahon wolf clan, the violent cofounders of Connor Creek, and has come to get her revenge on the Connor werewolves, who banished the McMahons centuries prior.

Just as Truman is going to kill Artemis for meddling in her plan, Desmond enters transformed into a werewolf. They fight and Truman escapes.

Artemis, Paul, Desmond, and Madison confront Truman at the town hall with a half baked plan devised by Paul. After it goes awry, Desmond and Truman battle it out. Madison avenges her brother’s death by shooting Truman through the heart.

Episode 10 - New moon

Desmond explains the truth about the history of the warring races of werewolves. He is the only original Connor wolf, the guardian of the town, and has been watching over Artemis and Paul since they arrived. The twins decide to keep the truth about werewolves in Connor Creek a secret from the rest of the world, meaning Artemis can’t finish her podcast with the blow of truth that she had been hoping for. This experience in Connor Creek has taught her that not every story is black or white, good or bad, and maybe the best ending is the ambiguous one.

Weeks later back in LA, the twins discover that the podcast is a hit and they begin planning for a potential third season.

Prologue

An introduction to fraternal twin podcasting team Artemis and Paul Shue-Horyn, the American Podcasting Network (APN), as well as a tease of the story of murder and werewolves on this season of The Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye.

Chapter 1

Artemis and Paul discuss the unlikely tip that led them to becoming the hosts for this season of Wayward Guide. But on arriving in the town of Connor Creek, the twins are met with an unexpected tragedy: the brutal death of their source. 

Chapter 2

Artemis and Paul interview the colorful locals about Miner Mole, a large mining corporation setting up shop in town, and also learn about Connor Creek’s hairy history of silver mining.  

Chapter 4

After Paul is mauled and the town mystic is murdered, Artemis ventures out to learn more about the upcoming town council election and the pro-mining candidate, Truman Hensley. 

Artemis is pushed to her breaking point, past her ethical concerns of the “observer effect,” and gets personally involved in the election. 

Chapter 3

Artemis and Paul do a deep dive into the town’s pro-mining town contingent, culminating in an unflattering expose on Silas Torsen: the Miner Mole executive driving expansion in Connor Creek.

Chapter 5

Paul heads up a special election day episode exploring Connor Creek’s bizarre democratic process. Rumors of an attack the previous night involving Artemis and a wild animal lead to a growing fear that werewolves may be behind all of this.

Chapter 6

Fear of more murders and the threat of werewolves gives way to full blown panic. While the town begins to fortify and debate who they can trust, the town florist takes it upon himself to do some digging.

Chapter 7

The town turns on Artemis and Paul, as we learn more about the twins’ past.  

Chapter 8

As werewolves look more and more likely to be the culprits, Artemis and Paul explore werewolf mythology. They also revisit some of Paul’s recordings that previously seemed irrelevant, but now might be the key to connecting the dots.

Chapter 9

The mystery comes to an end after one last murder reveals the answers Artemis and Paul have been looking for. Artemis and Paul try to find personal closure after their week of horror.