The end of The Offensive

From Issue #027 of the Pod Bible magazine, the Breaking Bread column from Stak reflected on six years of The Offensive podcast as it released the last ever episode… 

Award-winning mockumentary series, The Offensive, has reached its final episode after 5 seasons! Written and directed by Joel Emery & Adam Jarrell (Holy Smokes), produced by Stak (Football Ramble, Abroad in Japan), The Offensive has gathered a hugely loyal fanbase over six years of releases.

The Offensive follows the fictional Premier League club Ashwood City FC through their tricky transfer windows, disastrous deadline days and multiple manager breakdowns. The mockumentary gives a hilariously quick-witted insight into the behind the scenes of running a football club. It gives an entertaining take on the football industry from all angles, including the engaging vocal talent of Paul Waggott (Patrick Nolan), Helena Doughty (Jess Tate) and Adam Jarrell (Chris Woodall). The Guardian has called the series, “The Thick Of It meets Fifa career mode – a must listen for football fans”. The series placed top of the Apple Fiction Podcasting Charts and won Bronze at the 2019 British Podcast Awards for Best Fiction.

We caught up with creators, Joel & Adam, to reflect on 6 years of The Offensive…

HEY GUYS! SO, 5 SEASONS OF THE OFFENSIVE! DID YOU EVER IMAGINE THE SERIES WOULD GROW TO THIS SCALE?

AJ: We’re incredibly lucky with the listeners of the show and their passion for not only the characters, but Ashwood City itself! There wouldn’t be a total of five seasons without them, we’d have disappeared after one season in the Premier League like Swindon.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR THE OFFENSIVE?

JE: The idea was around before the ‘Sunderland Til I Die’s, the PL ‘All or Nothing’s, Ted Lasso or anything like that. It was born from a love of things like the Warnock documentary and Big Ron Manager. We deliberately aligned our style as close as we could to The Thick Of It. Not just in terms of documentary style, but also explicit content.

We wanted something that wasn’t gushy or romantic about football.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS YOUR FAVOURITE MOMENT OR EPISODE FROM THE SERIES?

AJ: There’s too many to choose from. Our lead actors, Paul Waggott and Helena Doughty, bring so much to Patrick Nolan and Jess Tate respectively, often it could be an ad-lib or a variation of a certain line of dialogue that keeps us on our toes and provides us with a laugh we weren’t necessarily expecting.

WHAT HAVE YOU ENJOYED MOST ABOUT THE PROCESS OF MAKING THE SERIES?

AJ: Personally, we’ve been through a lot of tough times during the process of making the show. The entire world has as well, and it has been nice to receive tweets and messages saying how we have provided a bit of laughter during the toughest of times, or how family members have bonded over the storylines of the show, making it a regular listen each week.

LASTLY, DO YOU HAVE ANY FINAL WORDS FOR THE SERIES?

JE: Final words for the series would be a clichéd thank you from Joel and myself. Thank you to the principal cast, thank you to our Producers Stak, thank you to the 200 plus cast members who have graced us with their vocal talents, to the cameos from the real footballing world but most of all, thank-you to the listeners who have taken a chance on a football comedy fiction show that when we first released back in 2018, one of our favourite early reviews read : “I thought this was going to be shit-it is not”. I think that sums it up.

To listen to all seasons of The Offensive, subscribe and listen by searching ‘The Offensive’ wherever you get your podcasts >>

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Stak produces podcasts that entertain and inform, including some of the UK’s biggest and most popular shows – boasting a combined 4 million monthly listens and over 45 years of podcasting experience. Whether recording remotely or in their broadcast-grade London studio, they specialise in every stage of the podcasting process. To find out more or get in touch, visit stak.london!