Goalhanger Launches Scripted Audio Drama Unit With Geopolitical Thriller 'Bear Hunt'
Goalhanger, the UK media company behind some of Britain's most popular podcasts, has launched a new scripted drama division with a ten-part audio thriller called Bear Hunt, billed as the "British Bourne" (Deadline).
The first two episodes arrive on 10 September across all major podcast platforms, with new instalments released weekly. The series follows a fictional mission to assassinate one of the world's most powerful and heavily protected leaders, spanning Westminster, Washington and the battlefield. The premise: 350 British civilians are dead, Russia is responsible, and an out-of-his-depth Prime Minister plays his hand in what the creators frame as an age of regime decapitation (Deadline).
Goalhanger Drama bosses Joel Emery and Adam Jarrell developed the series with input from current and former military and defence professionals, including serving airborne serviceman Sergeant Dave Allen, who served as military adviser. Goalhanger co-founder Tony Pastor said the seed was planted at a 2024 meeting with Allen in Arnhem — the Dutch town synonymous with a doomed Second World War airborne operation — and a later hypothetical question about how the British government would go about eliminating a foreign leader (Deadline).
Donald Pirie leads an ensemble of more than 50 voice actors as Sgt. Tom MacDuff, known as "Duffy." The cast includes Thomas Mitchells as Prime Minister Alex Kernoway, Naomi Miller as Director of Intelligence Mel Murray, Michael Lyle as Addie Azikiwe, Lauren Ingram as Miriam Brann, Freddie Trenholme as Sgt. Shaun Wade and Luke Jasztal as former spymaster Sir Pilgrim Moore. Familiar voices from Goalhanger's existing podcast network also appear, among them comedian Al Murray, co-host of We Have Ways of Making You Talk, and historian Dominic Sandbrook, co-host of The Rest Is History and The Book Club (Deadline).
The new scripted unit arrives after a structural shift at Goalhanger. The company shut down its television arm, Goalhanger Films, in November 2024 to concentrate on podcasts — a move first reported by Deadline. Goalhanger had already dipped a toe into scripted audio with Sherlock & Co., a drama series that debuted in 2023 under the Goalhanger Podcasts banner. Bear Hunt is the first release under the dedicated drama label, with further original productions planned for 2027 (Deadline).
Goalhanger is owned by broadcaster Gary Lineker, Tony Pastor and Jack Davenport. Its website describes the company as creating story-first shows across history, politics, sport, business, entertainment, culture and audio drama (goalhanger.com).
For podcast listeners who have followed Goalhanger's non-fiction output, Bear Hunt is the company's most ambitious leap into scripted storytelling yet — a full-cast thriller with the production values of a television drama, delivered through earbuds.
