Overall Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5/5)
The writing is lean and deliberate. In just 52 minutes, the episode introduces a compelling mystery (who erased the final session tape from 1987?), layers in genuine emotional grief, and delivers two genuine “drop what you’re doing” twists. The slow-burn pacing is ideal for audio; scenes of Mara cleaning tape heads or aligning reel-to-reels become hypnotic, building tension through routine rather than jump scares. The final five minutes, featuring a whispered message in reverse, are genuinely unsettling.
The Studio opens its first season with a taut, atmospheric premiere, “The Audition,” that immediately establishes the series as a standout in the psychological thriller genre. The episode follows Mara, a reclusive sound engineer (voiced with brittle precision by Emma Lorne), who inherits a decaying analog recording studio from her late mentor. What begins as a nostalgic cleanup quickly spirals into a nightmarish discovery: the studio’s master tapes capture not just music, but fragmented conversations from the past—and present—that Mara should have no way of hearing.
The Studio S01E01 is a masterclass in audio-only storytelling. The M4B format elevates it from a simple audiobook episode to an interactive, replayable experience. If you enjoy The Lovecraft Investigations , Limetown , or Video Palace , this will scratch that itch perfectly. Just don’t listen alone in a quiet room with the lights off. Unless you want the full effect.
Buy/Subscribe. This is a series that demands to be heard, not watched. The M4B is the definitive version. Content Warning: Brief strong language, sustained tension, auditory hallucinations.