History Podcast / Arden

* MegaCorp: Wheyface Industries. Andy Wheyface regularly buys up smaller businesses and twists them to suit his desires, and the only thing stopping them from becoming too scary is that quite often Andy's desires are [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob silly and (mostly) harmless]]. Not to mention the company is entirely unionized, possibly thanks to the podcast crew tricking Andy into thinking that was an industry standard.

The podcast is a modern re-imagining of (some of) the works of Creator/WilliamShakespeare; specifically, the main characters are themed after ''Theatre/MuchAdoAboutNothing'', the first season's case is inspired by ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', and the second season is based on ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''. However, this in no way renders the story predictable.

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Each episode is named as '__ Did It', generally relating to the theory of the case being discussed in that episode. For example, Aliens Did It, Horses Did It, Slick Roads Did It, etc.

* RealityEnsues: As the production team starts getting closer to finding the truth about Julie, they start to realize that she's a human being and not just a piece of pop culture history--and wonder if they're doing the right thing by digging into it like it's their business at all.
** Half of season two is about the fallout of season one, including everyone in Elsinore being familiar with "Arden" and what happened after the end of season one. As such, many people are wary of Bea and Brenda being nothing more than gloryhounds trying to get another FifteenMinutesOfFame by preying on Dana Hamill.
** In episode 5 of season two, Pamela walks out during a recording because she's still trying to produce a serious podcast and Bea and Brenda keep on joking and dragging their personal problems into things.

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler: While Juliet and Romeo died by suicide, Julie and Ralph faked their deaths in order to start new lives for themselves]].

* WillTheyOrWontThey: Bea and Brenda, even moreso in the second season. [[spoiler:They do]].

The podcast is a modern re-imagining of (some of) the works of Creator/WilliamShakespeare; specifically, the main characters are themed after ''Theatre/MuchAdoAboutNothing'', the first season's case is inspired by ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', and the second season is based on ''Theatre/Hamlet''. However, this in no way renders the story predictable.

In 2020 a second season aired, dealing with a new case as well as the smash success of the first season in-universe and how it effects the cast's personal lives. Bea and Brenda reunite with the ''Arden'' team in the town of Elsinore, Montana on behalf of farmer Dana Hamill to investigate the death of her father. She's convinced it's foul play, but her mother and uncle-turned-stepfather are worried she's having a traumatic relapse and that the podcast is going to make things worse.

** For Bea and Brenda, [[spoiler: their friendship takes several blows when Brenda reveals she called the cops on Kale. Brenda's attempts to ease Julie's concerns lead to her having to return stateside and stand trial, potentially tearing her family apart. Then during the press about the podcast cracking the case, Brenda snaps and abandons Bea because she acts like the show was more important than the people involved. Ultimately the two reconcile, but Brenda still can't bring herself to see Bea in person.]]
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Rosalind is as off-kilter as Brenda if not moreso. She can easily track down obscure documents and set up meetings with Senators, but she also gets easily distracted and once learned to fly a plane on a whim.
* CastFullOfGay: Most of the cast is either gay or bisexual, and season two introduces a trans character in Olivia.

* MegaCorp: Wheyface Industries. Andy Wheyface regularly buys up smaller businesses and twists them to suit his desires, and the only thing stopping them from becoming too scary is that quite often Andy's desires are [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob silly and (mostly) harmless]].
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Bea has one near the end when [[spoiler: she realizes her pursuit of Julie could end up destroying the life she tried to build while escaping her family]].

* UptownGirl: Julie is a wealthy heiress and Hollywood star, while Ralph is an ordinary college student from a much poorer neighborhood.

* CastFullOfGay: Most of the cast is either gay or bisexual, and season two introduces a recurring trans character in Olivia.

* ToBeLawfulOrToBeGood: Near the end of the season, the podcasters find out [[spoiler: Julie is alive, or at least was when Natalie last saw her]]. From then on they debate whether they should continue, since [[spoiler: if they abandon the case where it stands, Kale goes to prison for murder and cannot harm any women again. On the other hand, if they find Julie they prove Kale is innocent but also solve a different decades-old case]]. It's exacerbated by the end, since [[spoiler: revealing Julie to the world means she'd have to stand trial for all the illegal things she did in the name of protecting herself and Ralph from her family and the world at large]].

The podcast is a modern re-imagining of (some of) the works of Creator/WilliamShakespeare; specifically, ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' and ''Theatre/MuchAdoAboutNothing'', although this in no way renders the story predictable.

* ShowWithinAShow: "Arden" the true crime podcast is the show inside of ''Arden'' the audio drama. There's also Andy's pet project "Grunty [=McMurtree=]" about Irish hillbillies, the other podcast "Remembering Forgotten Memories of Hollywood", "Dog Cop" (which is discussed on [=RFMoH=]), and the ''Series/LawAndOrder'' parody "Cops and Lawyers".
* ToBeLawfulOrBeGood: Near the end of the season, the podcasters find out [[spoiler: Julie is alive, or at least was when Natalie last saw her]]. From then on they debate whether they should continue, since [[spoiler: if they abandon the case where it stands, Kale goes to prison for murder and cannot harm any women again. On the other hand, if they find Julie they prove Kale is innocent but also solve a different decades-old case]]. It's exacerbated by the end, since [[spoiler: revealing Julie to the world means she'd have to stand trial for all the illegal things she did in the name of protecting herself and Ralph from her family and the world at large]].

On December 25, 2007, Hollywood darling and wealthy salt heiress Julie Capscom disappeared without a trace, leaving her crashed car abandoned along a desolate stretch of California highway with an unidentified male torso in the trunk. Did her boyfriend kill her? Did she kill him? Did they run away together? [[RunningGag Did aliens do it?]] Nobody knows, and the case has gone unsolved for more than a decade... until now. Bea Casely and Brenda Bentley are on the case--if they don't kill each other first, that is.

''Arden'' is a fiction podcast structured and presented as a TrueCrime story, revolving around the fictional cold case disappearance of teenage starlet Julie Capscom and her boyfriend Ralph Montgomery. The podcast is hosted by reporter [[IntrepidReporter Bea Casely]] and unconventional private investigator [[CowboyCop Brenda Bentley]], who spend as much of their time pursuing leads as they do engaged in a merry war of BelligerentSexualTension and ever-increasing absurdity. They're backed up by Bea's increasingly beleaguered producer Pamela Pink, Brenda's surprisingly competent assisnant Rosalind Ursula, and the show's mysterious and eccentric benefactor Andy Wheyface.

** In the case of Julie Capscom's disappearance, [[spoiler: Julie and Ralph are both alive, having faked their deaths and are raising a daughter in Italy. However the podcasts thrusts them both into the spotlight and end up not only exposing them, but ruin their chance to make a break for it. The reveal causes them to lose some friends, but also reconnect with others. Julie being alive means Kale is released from prison, but her evidence of his sexual assault means he might be blacklisted after all]].

** It's implied that Julie's mother had one that lead to her death. [[spoiler: She told Julie that being assaulted by the Hollywood elite was the price of being a woman in the industry, which jumpstarted Julie's attempts to get away from them and culminated in her faking her death. Later on, it's said that Mrs. Capscom never agreed with the ploy to hide supposed proof that Julie died from the public]]. In the end, it seems like she was so horrified by her choices that she could no longer continue.

In 2007, Hollywood darling and wealthy salt heiress Julie Capscom disappeared without a trace, leaving her crashed car abandoned along a desolate stretch of California highway with an unidentified male torso in the trunk. Did her boyfriend kill her? Did she kill him? Did they run away together? [[RunningGag Did aliens do it?]] Nobody knows, and the case has gone unsolved for more than a decade... until now. Bea Casely and Brenda Bentley are on the case- if they don't kill each other first, that is.

''Arden'' is a fiction podcast structured and presented as a TrueCrime story, revolving around the fictional cold case disappearance of teenage starlet Julie Capscom and her boyfriend Ralph Montgomery. The podcast is hosted by reporter [[IntrepidReporter Bea Casely]] and unconventional private investigator [[CowboyCop Brenda Bentley]], who spend much of their time engaged in a merry war of BelligerentSexualTension and ever-increasing absurdity.

''Arden'' is a fiction podcast structured and presented as a TrueCrime story, revolving around the fictional cold case disappearance of teenage starlet Julie Capscom and her boyfriend Ralph Montgomery. The podcast is hosted by reporter [[IntrepidReporter Bea Casely]] and unconventional private investigator [[CowboyCop Brenda Bentley]], who spend much of their time engaged in a merry war of BelligerentSexualTension.

* UptownGirl: Between Julie, a wealthy heiress and Hollywood star, is this to Ralph, an ordinary college student from a much poorer neighborhood.

* BelligerentSexualTension: As to be expected from any adaptation of Benedick and Beatrice.