‘Small Town Dicks’ podcast from Yeardley Smith signs with Acast, launches new season

Acast, the creator-first podcast company, has signed Small Town Dicks, the popular true-crime podcast with more than 25 million downloads. The series is hosted by real-life twin detectives Dan and Dave — who remain anonymous — and actress Yeardley Smith, best known as the voice of Lisa Simpson in The Simpsons. Acast will launch the series’ ninth season on September 17.

“From the first meeting with Acast we knew, ‘They’re our people!’” said Yeardley Smith. “They bring a shed-load to the party. Small Town Dicks could not be in better hands.”

Small Town Dicks follows real-life, big-time crime happening in ‘Small Town, USA’ — the podcast name being a reference to the slang term for detectives. Each episode features a new crime in a new location, told first-hand by the men and women who’ve dedicated their lives to leaving no stone unturned as they pursue justice for the victims and their families.

From filing FOIA requests to sourcing 9-1-1 calls, the team behind the podcast uncovers audio assets to bring listeners into the trenches with deep storytelling. Above all, the podcast strives to tell victims’ stories in a responsible, respectful, and empathetic way, while honoring the work of the investigative teams.

In Season 9, the podcast will continue to bring listeners closer to the crimes happening not only in small towns across America but overseas, too. This season’s stories include a police bombing, a forensic revolution, international sex trafficking, a cold case murder, greed, burglary, and even parricide, to name a few. Even though these crimes took place in small towns around Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the USA, the stories demonstrate that there’s nothing provincial about the malevolence and depravity perpetrated.

Following the season premiere on September 17, new episodes will drop weekly every Friday.

“In a sea of true crime podcasts, Small Town Dicks is a truly one-of-a-kind series — in fact, I’ve been listening since 2017 and it’s the show that prompted my career shift into podcasting,” said Rebecca Steinberg, Director of Development at Acast. “When we partner with creators, we look for the sort of compelling storytelling that leaves an impression on listeners. This series so thoughtfully approaches victims, their families, and detectives from a place of reverence and respect.”

In addition to hosting the series and distributing it across all podcast players and platforms, Acast will monetize the show through ads and sponsorships, diversifying its revenue through premium ad products available through the Acast Marketplace — such as Sponsored Stories and branded content.

Small Town Dicks is produced by Smith, Ben Cornwell, and Gary Scott of the production company Paperclip Ltd. Listeners can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon, Overcast, or wherever they listen to podcasts.