Wolf 359 (podcast)

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Fandom
Name: Wolf 359
Abbreviation(s): w359
Creator: Gabriel Urbina, Sarah Shachat
Date(s): August 14, 2014- December 25, 2017
Medium: Podcast, Radio Theater
Country of Origin: USA
External Links: Official website
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Wolf 359 was an audio drama podcast produced by Kinda Evil Genius Productions. It ran for four seasons, with a total of 61 episodes, a live show, and multiple mini/special episodes. The fandom is largely contained to Tumblr, where the show remains popular within the fiction podcast community.

The show began airing in August 2014, with a small but dedicated following. In the fall of 2015, as season two was finishing, the fandom grew exponentially, and the number of fics on AO3 skyrocketed. Wolf 359 would remain popular through it's finale episode, after which fandom interest would slowly die out. Though almost no new canon material has been released since 2017, a small fandom remains, likely because the show is often recommended in the podcast community, drawing in new fans for years after it's ending.

Cast & Crew

Comic Style Fanart of Lovelace by Endoplasmian

The majority of the podcast was written by Gabriel Urbina and Sarah Shachat, though a handful of episodes were written by voice actors Emma Sherr-Ziarko and Zach Valenti. The show's score was composed by Alan Rodi,[1] though it also incorporates a diegetic soundtrack of (public domain/creative commons) classical music. Originally comprised of only three voice actors, Wolf 359 began with an extremely small cast for an audio drama. As the show continued, more characters--and subsequently, voice actors--were added. Certain recurring side-characters, like Mr. Cutter and Rachel Young, would gain more significant roles in later seasons. Some episodes featured additional voice actors as side characters, though often only for a single scene or episode.

During it's run, Wolf 359 maintained an official Tumblr blog, which was eventually taken down sometime between January and October 2021.[2] Many cast members also had personal Tumblr/Twitter accounts which were known to the fandom. Zach Valenti was especially known to interact with fans on his Tumblr[3] while the show was airing.

The crew made four AMA videos[4], in which they answered fan questions and discussed the show's latest season. Other behind-the-scenes content was released as Patreon rewards. The writing team also shared their character-specific spotify playlists.[4] A 'making of' special for the finale episode was released in November 2021,[5] with a reunion episode following in December.[6]



Canon

A fan-made poster by @nightvale-thoughts

Wolf 359 is a podcast that depicts the surreal lives of crew members aboard the U.S.S. Hephaestus Station as they orbit the star Wolf 359, almost 8 light years away from Earth. The show is set in an alternate, technologically advanced modern-day timeline, where mega-corporation Goddard Futuristics develops and sponsors the majority of deep-space missions. Though story lines center exclusively on a main cast of characters (the crew aboard the station), new characters are steadily introduced to this cast throughout the show.

Main Cast
Voice Actor Character(s) Debut
Zach Valenti Communications Officer Doug Eiffel, Dr. Alexander Hilbert aka Dr. Elias Selberg Episode 1
Emma Sherr-Ziarko Lieutenant Commander Renée Minkowski Episode 1
Michaela Swee Hera, Dr. Miranda Pryce Episode 1, Episode 41 (memory) / Episode 47
Cecilia Lynn-Jacobs Captain Isabel Lovelace Episode 6 (recording) / Episode 21
Zach Libresco Colonel Warren Kepler Episode 30
Noah Masur Special Operative Daniel Jacobi Episode 31
Michelle Agresti Dr. Alana Maxwell Episode 31
Scotty Shoemaker Marcus Cutter Episode 14
Ariela Rotenberg Rachel Young Mini-Episode 4
The significance of names (and titles and what people call each other) in Wolf 359 is So Good because it links into almost all the major themes of the series. Names are about identity and the self and how characters perceive themselves. Names are about relationships and communication and how characters perceive each other. Names are about personhood and humanity and the power of individuals. Names are about self-determination and autonomy and respect... And I think that's why there's so much stuff to think about in terms of how this show uses first names and surnames and aliases and titles and the right to one's own name. There's so much to say about what these characters call each other when.

hephaestuscrew on Tumblr[7]

Fandom

The show gained a relatively large fandom as the fiction podcast format exploded in popularity on Tumblr following the success of Welcome to Night Vale. Though there were breaks in Winter between the release of each season, the episode schedule was spread throughout multiple months, which helped prevent fans from losing interest, staving off fandom decline until the series finished.

As of 2024, the Wolf 359 tag on Archive of Our Own has over 2,000 works[8], with fics posted as early as July 2015.[9] While shipping is popular with some fans, gen is the largest relationship category on AO3.[10] Romance is not heavily featured in canon, and relationships between characters are largely viewed in a crew/team format. The fandom places heavy emphasis on the emotional bonds between characters, and many fanworks examine these connections from a non-shipping perspective. Because of the shifting alliances throughout the story, relationships and dynamics involving multiple characters working together are referred to by canon or fanon group names.

Fanart by @beesge

Popular Relationships

Pairing

Gen

Tropes

  • X Character Lives: Because of the many canon character deaths in the series, Canon Divergence AUs in which specific characters live are common.
    • Following in-canon lore, some works avoid permanent death by bringing characters back as alien clones.
  • Post-canon: works which continue after the finale are often focused on how certain characters adapt to life back on Earth, including Doug's relationship with the crew post-memory loss, Hera being removed from the ship, Minkowski's relationship with her husband, Jacobi's life without the SI-5, and the deconstruction of Goddard Futuristics.
  • Trans Daniel Jacobi: The character Daniel Jacobi is often headcanoned as a trans man.[11]
  • Grief/Mourning: Fanworks often deal with characters processing the traumatic events of canon, especially surrounding character death, identity issues, and autonomy. This is usually paired with Angst and/or Hurt/Comfort.
  • Found Family: Centering on the canon dynamics between the Hephaestus crew and portraying them as a found family, especially in post-canon fics that include the surviving cast keeping in close contact, sometimes even living together. Many SI-5 works portray them as a found family, though usually as somewhat toxic and unhealthy.
  • Fluff: Because of the show's heavy themes, some works focus on more lighthearted concepts.

Fanon

Like many other podcast fandoms, there are widely accepted fanon character designs. Though less specific than other examples (e.g. The Magnus Archives), some consensus on the general aspects of character's designs is evident. The show provides very little canon information regarding the cast's appearance, leaving it open to listener interpretation. As a general rule, the earlier a character is introduced, the more solidified their fanon design will be.

Eiffel

Eiffel is mostly portrayed as a white (usually tan) or latino man, with long, curly brown hair pulled back in a bun or ponytail. Alternatively, he may have short, somewhat shaggy hair, and facial hair. He is often depicted in an orange jumpsuit (the fanon 'crew' uniform), and a graphic T-shirt, with the top of the jumpsuit down and tied around his waist.

Hera

While Hera canonically has no physical body, most fanart depicts her with a human form. Commonly, she is a short young woman with blue skin, and blue or white hair--usually long and straight, or a short bob with bangs. Some artists give her a variety of other features, such as glowing skin, all white eyes, electronic details on her body (e.g. circuit boards, glitches, wires, lights), and electronic accessories (headsets, visors, headphones). Alternatively, she is sometimes depicted as a short, white woman with blonde, white, or blue hair, and no features to distinguish her as an AI. Some designs take inspiration from retro-futurism, or may evoke comic art.

Minkowski

Minkowski is typically depicted as a white, muscular woman in a neat orange jumpsuit. Usually her hair is brown or blonde, and either long (and put up in a braid, bun, or ponytail) or short and close cropped. She often has freckles, moles, scars, or other details on her skin.

Hilbert

Hilbert is usually depicted as a thin old man with glasses and a lab coat over his orange jumpsuit. He may be bald or have balding gray hair, and is sometimes drawn with a beard or mustache. Often, he has wrinkles, age spots, or other skin details.

Lovelace

Lovelace is almost universally depicted as a tall black woman, usually either slim or very muscular. Her hair is often shoulder-length, and tied back in a headband or bun, or in a protective style (typically braids).

Controversy

Example Fanworks

Fanfiction

Fanart of Episode 42: Time to Kill by @yellghoul

Fan Art

Zines

Meta

Audio

Fanmixes/Playlists

Vids

Animation

Graphics

Events

Links & Resources

Unofficial Transcripts

Fan Accounts

References

  1. ^ https://wolf359.fm/music/
  2. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20210114171224/https://wolf359radio.tumblr.com/
  3. ^ https://iamzachvalenti.tumblr.com/
  4. ^ a b https://wolf359.fm/extras
  5. ^ https://podbay.fm/p/wolf-359/e/1635177658
  6. ^ https://podbay.fm/p/wolf-359/e/1640453972
  7. ^ https://www.tumblr.com/hephaestuscrew/715792215271768064/the-significance-of-names-and-titles-and-what?source=share
  8. ^ https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Wolf%20359%20(Radio)/works
  9. ^ https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Wolf%20359%20(Radio)/works?page=121
  10. ^ https://archiveofourown.org/works?commit=Sort+and+Filter&work_search%5Bsort_column%5D=revised_at&include_work_search%5Bcategory_ids%5D%5B%5D=21&work_search%5Bother_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bexcluded_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bcrossover%5D=&work_search%5Bcomplete%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_from%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_to%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_from%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_to%5D=&work_search%5Bquery%5D=&work_search%5Blanguage_id%5D=&tag_id=Wolf+359+%28Radio%29
  11. ^ https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Trans%20Daniel%20Jacobi
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