The second season of Prototype World of Tomorrow nabbed nominations for writing, directing, music, and outstanding performances for the Audio Verse Awards. Benjamin Lancaster (writer/director of Walt’s Frozen Head), Kevin Perjurer of Defunctland, and John Saccheri aka Big Fat Panda all received nominations for their work on the series.
Prototype World of Tomorrow is an immersive audio experience that combines actors, music, and top-notch sound design. Prototype World of Tomorrow takes inspiration from the real-life plans to have a domed metropolis in Central Florida. But the twist with the series is that with fifty thousand residents, not everything is the perfect utopia it seems, and there is at least one murderer.
The award nominations came at a time as Prototype World of Tomorrow was wrapping up their second season. In the first season, which premiered in April, followed the story of the first murder in the City of Progress and Tim Less, the would-be private detective who tries to solve the case.
“Each season is both a new adventure and a continuation of the larger story of the characters,” said Benjamin Lancaster, the show’s creator and showrunner. “The first season was about the murder of Progress’ most prominent citizen, and those threads haven’t gone away, but now Tim and Eve are on a different case that involves aerial battles in blimps, cultish protest groups, and storm chasers with jet packs.”
If you’re a fan of theme parks and theme parks history this series is definitely for you. There is just a lovely futuristic tone about the show and because it is an audio drama, the crew is able to do things that they would never be able to do in an indie film.
“What’s great about the audio format is there are things we could never do in an indie film. We can make something that really speaks to a specific audience,” said Lancaster. “I think theme park fans particularly are going to love not just the references, but the whole vibe of the show. We’d all love to hop a peoplemover into the domed city or ride a monorail to work in a futuristic industrial park.”
“We get to do things like spend 2 minutes on a song that parodies the Sherman Brothers,” said Lancaster, referencing the song “Hello World!” which was nominated for Best Vocal Composition in a New Production.
Lancaster is deeply involved in the theme park community. He wrote and directed the 2018 feature film The Further Adventures of Walt’s Frozen Head and runs the popular Twitter account @WaltsFrzenHead.
Prototype World of Tomorrow also features other members in the theme park community including Kevin Perjurer of Defunctland, who was nominated for his premiere acting performance as Douglas McDonald. John Saccheri, also known by his social media handle Big Fat Panda, was nominated for Officer Rick Russo, a role he’s played since the beginning of the series. How Bowers, one-quarter of the Retro WDW podcast, plays numerous roles in the series and was nominated for his performance of the song “Hello World!”
Congrats to all who were nominated! You can find the complete list of nominees for the Audio Verse Awards here. The finalists are now selected from the nominees, and general voting for the finalists begins November 15.
You can listen to Prototype World of Tomorrow here:
Apple Podcast:
YouTube Channel:
Google Play:
You can learn more about the series on the official website:
The final episode of the second season of Prototype World of Tomorrow will drop on October 6.
Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
