Two-time Signal Award-winning podcast from iHeartPodcasts, FilmNation Entertainment, Pacific Electric Picture Co. and Gilded Audio will next explore a decade-defining burglary

New York, NY – November 2, 2023 – SNAFU with Ed Helms, the award-winning iHeartPodcast about history’s greatest screwups, has been renewed for a second and third season. Hosted and executive produced by Helms, the podcast recently won two Signal Awards: a Gold Award for Best History Podcast and a Silver Award for Best Writing, both in the category of Limited Series & Specials. This year it was also nominated for Best History Podcast for the 2023 Ambie Awards and was an honoree for documentary podcast at the 2023 Webby Awards. The first season, which has amassed over one million downloads, told the extraordinary and little-known story of Able Archer 83, the NATO military exercise that almost caused a nuclear war in November of 1983.

The second high-stakes season will be based on the book The Burglary by journalist Betty Medsger, telling the incredible story of the burglary that revealed J. Edgar Hoover’s secret FBI. It’s the tale of the eight peace activists who took on the most powerful agency in America: stealing secret documents, evading capture, and uncovering the Bureau’s most explosive and damning secrets. This seminal moment in history still resonates today through timely themes like surveillance, privacy, and the power of civil disobedience.

Back in 1971, Medsger, then a journalist at The Washington Post, received a batch of FBI documents in the mail, which had been covertly sent to her by the burglars. More than 20 years later, it would be Betty to whom the burglars would finally admit their involvement and reveal the full story behind their unbelievable break-in. The season is expected to feature all six of the living original eight burglars, along with several of Betty’s original interviews in the 1990’s with the burglars.

“It’s been exciting to see SNAFU find a passionate audience and also reassuring to know I might not be the only history nerd out there. The burglars featured in our second season are American heroes, and I couldn’t be more excited to be working with the brilliant Betty Medsger to adapt her book. Also thrilled to be back in business with our amazing partners at iHeartPodcasts, FilmNation and Gilded Audio for two more seasons,” said Helms.

SNAFU with Ed Helms is a production of iHeartPodcasts, FilmNation Entertainment & Pacific Electric Picture Co. in association with Gilded Audio. The second season is produced by Alyssa Martino and Tory Smith for FilmNation, and produced and written by Sara Joyner, Stephen Wood, and Albert Chen for Gilded Audio.

Executive producers for the second season are Ed Helms and Mike Falbo for Pacific Electric Picture Co.; Milan Popelka for FilmNation Entertainment; Andy Chugg and Whitney Donaldson for Gilded Audio; Dylan Fagan for iHeartPodcasts; and Betty Medsger, author of The Burglary.

About FilmNation Entertainment

FilmNation Entertainment is a leading independent entertainment company that produces, finances and distributes award-winning films, television series, podcasts and theater productions that combine strong creative voices and global appeal including critically acclaimed films such as ARRIVAL, THE BIG SICK and PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN. FilmNation is also the home of Infrared, a new film production label focused on films with franchise potential.

FilmNation’s podcasting division features character-driven storytelling and original voices uniquely suited to the medium. Popular podcasts include SNAFU with Ed Helms for iHeartMedia, which recently won a Gold Signal Award for History - Limited Series and Specials and a Silver Signal Award for for Best Writing - Limited Series and Specials, and received a 2023 nomination for Best History Podcast for the Ambie Awards; Olympics-themed show Torched for Stitcher with host Molly Bloom, which won the 2022 Signal Award for Best Sports Podcast and Best Individual Sports Episode and received a nomination for Best Sports Podcast for the Ambie Awards; the true crime podcast Murder on the Towpath for Luminary with host Soledad O’Brien; and science fiction anthology Hyper-thetical hosted by Kerry Bishé.

About Pacific Electric Picture Co.

Founded by Ed Helms and Mike Falbo in 2012, Pacific Electric Picture Co. is a production company with a first look deal at Universal Television. They most recently produced two seasons of RUTHERFORD FALLS, created by Helms, Sierra Ornelas, and Mike Schur for Peacock & UTV. Also for Peacock, last year they released TRUE STORY WITH ED & RANDALL, co-hosted by Helms and Randall Park, to rave reviews. Before that, they produced the critically acclaimed sketch show AUNTY DONNA’S BIG OL’ HOUSE OF FUN for Netflix in 2020. In 2018, Pacific Electric won a WGA Award for their Comedy Central special THE FAKE NEWS WITH TED NELMS.

On the feature side, they produced COFFEE AND KAREEM for Netflix, directed by Michael Dowse and starring Ed Helms, Taraji P Henson, Betty Gilpin, and David Alan Grier, and CORPORATE ANIMALS, written by Sam Bain, directed by Patrick Brice and starring Demi Moore, Jessica Williams, and Karan Soni, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

They currently have projects in development at AMC, Disney+, FilmNation, Peacock, STX, and Warner Animation, among others. With the release of the critically lauded first season of SNAFU, they are excited to continue expanding into the podcast space.