Mission to Zyxx

I listen to lots of podcasts and I'm always on on the lookout for something new. This one came as a real surprise, not being my part of my usual genre... Within less than 10 minutes, I was hooked.

Because it's an improv, you never know what's going to happen next: If one of the characters says something weird and unusual, inspired in the spur of the moment, the others all have to follow that and make it a part of the story.

This show exudes unbridled fun. It's full of hilarious references to major sci-fi series and movies that are guaranteed to make your day.

Give it a chance, you'll love it!

Listening to this podcast has been the single greatest decision of my life. It's amazing. It's incredible. Seriously, listen to it immediately. It's sound designed into the stratosphere and has no right being as good AND as silly as it is. Great cast, great guests, great pop culture references, and everyone is LEGITIMATELY a sci-fi fan and it shows.

This show is, I feel 100% safe saying as an avid podcast enjoyer, among the best things podcasting has to offer. If you're interested in any one of the following, you should absolutely give it a try, even if you don't care about the others: sci-fi, comedy, great improv, goofy worldbuilding, or actual play DnD shows (it's not that, but has a similar appeal).

It's a comedy podcast, so the humor is obviously the main draw, and it is incredibly funny. What really makes it special, though, is how all the other elements are also solidly executed and always manage to support the comedy without ever being sacrificed to it. The characters are charming and goofy and get to have some genuinely sweet moments with one another and undergo just enough character development to make them feel real (despite how outlandish they are). The sound design is incredibly solid and immersive and packed with little details that make re-listening a delight and enhance the jokes, but it's tasteful and never in your face. The worldbuilding is more consistent than an improv podcast should have any right to be, and as characters and concepts and locations get brought back, they double as running jokes and help the world feel lived-in. The plot isn't heavy, but everything that feels like it should pay off does. The humor is often referential but never inaccessible.

Maybe most importantly, the main cast has absolutely incredible chemistry with one another, and it seeps through into every aspect of the show. It's impossible to not have a great time listening because everyone involved sounds like they're having a blast 100% of the time. The guests are also very solid and funny.

I'm also trying to think of a bad episode, and I'm coming up with nothing. Zyxx at its worst is pretty funny. There are a hundred episodes, so statistically, a couple episodes should suck, but none of them do. The only crime the "worse" episodes commit is not being the best ones.

A gem of a podcast. I hate to think that I could have lived a life where I never listened to it, and I'm very glad that I did.