Wondery Greenlights Second Season of Original Podcast “‘Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast” with Saturday Night Live’s James Austin Johnso
Following a stellar debut season, Wondery, an Amazon company, announces it is greenlighting a second season of its breakout hit ‘Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast, an original podcast series from Wondery and Dr. Seuss Enterprises. The festive variety show-style podcast features comedian James Austin Johnson (Saturday Night Live) returning as The Grinch, as he chats with celebrity guests who try to convince him to embrace the spirit of Christmas. Since its season one premiere in early November, ‘Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast has consistently held the #1 or #2 spots in the Kids & Family category on Apple Podcasts, while also becoming only one of three podcasts for families that has broken the top 50 on Apple Podcasts overall this year (Source: Chartable and Podchaser, YTD 2023). The popular podcast currently holds the #1 rank within the Kids & Family category on Amazon Music. Season two of ‘Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast will debut for the holiday season in 2024 early on Wondery+, before becoming widely available on Amazon Music and wherever listeners get their podcasts.
From stealing Christmas to stealing podcast listeners’ attention, ‘Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast starring everyone’s favorite holiday curmudgeon is a delight for listeners of all ages. Season one, which continues to release new episodes weekly through December 18, has featured an all-star celebrity guest line-up led by Grammy-award winning artist Meghan Trainor, Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson East, WWE superstar Cody Rhodes, former SNL-cast member Bobby Moynihan, comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, and late night host and comedian Seth Meyers. The first season finale will be released December 18 featuring a conversation with YouTube superstar and multiple Grammy-award nominee Chloe Bailey.
Marshall Lewy, Chief Content Officer for Wondery, said, “The Grinch told me that he found being a talk show host was a surprisingly satisfying experience! Sure he was a curmudgeon on set, but ‘Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast gave us all a chance to see the Grinch cracking jokes and hobnobbing with celebrities in a totally new medium. We look forward to bringing him back for more Grinchy snark next holiday season.”
Susan Brandt, President & CEO of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, stated, “We are delighted by listeners’ positive reactions to Season One of ‘Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast. James Austin Johnson has a fresh, unique take on the character in this new medium that fans of all ages and generations can enjoy. We look forward to continuing our partnership with a second season.”
‘Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast marked the second series to be released under a collaboration between podcast studio Wondery and Dr. Seuss Enterprises. The first series, The Cat in the Hat Cast, is a “fantastical variety show-style podcast series hosted by everyone’s favorite red and white hat-wearing Cat.” Additional podcasts inspired by the iconic Dr. Seuss characters and stories will be announced in the coming months.
Both ‘Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast and The Cat in the Hat Cast join Wondery Kids & Family’s roster of popular family programming that also includes: Wow in the World, the #1 science podcast for families according to Podtrac, hosted by Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas; the award-winning Little Stories Everywhere, a weekly story podcast that brings listeners into magical, adventurous, fantastical tales to excite imaginations; and Whose Amazing Life?, a puzzle format podcast that presents facts about a renowned figure and invites listeners to guess who the person is at the conclusion of each episode.
Listen to ‘Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast and The Cat in the Hat Cast on Wondery+ or wherever you get your podcasts.
