Connor Ratliff and the Global Success of ‘Dead Eyes’ Podcast

George Lucas, I began by pointing out, could be incidental to the George Lucas Talk Show (coming to Edinburgh), in a way Tom Hanks couldn’t be to Dead Eyes.

“Given the occasional madness the show descends into, I could imagine him stumbling upon it during one of our charity watch-alongs and not realizing it has anything to do with him,” the host explained.

Tom and George, he pointed out, do share a relevance to his life, “Yes, the Tom Hanks connection through Dead Eyes does put me two degrees away from Lucas, as Tom has worked extensively with Steven Spielberg. In some ways, I’ve gotten closer to George through Dead Eyes than through my George Lucas Talk Show.”

Segwaying to all matters ‘Tom Hanks’ and thus ‘Dead Eyes’, I asked about Connor’s involvement in narrating Tom Hanks’ new novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece.

“It was an unexpected treat to be a part of that,” he said, delight in his voice, “The book, which fictionalizes the making of a movie, has sections about an actor getting fired. I was cast to read the section about the actor who takes their place, which was a clever bit of casting. I had actually read the book before they offered me the audiobook role, and I enjoyed it. I thought it would have made for a great episode if it had come out earlier, as we could have explored the book and looked for clues and references like a DaVinci Code treasure hunt.”

Connor expressed gratitude for Tom Hanks’ ongoing kindness, adding, “He’s been completely kind and generous with his time and thoughts. It’s gratifying because I never expected him to hear about it, let alone have a positive opinion. Every interaction with him feels like a perfect punctuation mark on the experience.”

Discussing the future of Dead Eyes, Connor shared his original plan to gradually move away from the connection to Tom Hanks and Band of Brothers, saying, “My original plan was to gradually move away from the connection to Tom Hanks and Band of Brothers. Each season would have fewer episodes related to them. Season one was mostly focused on them, season two had a few, and season three was almost half unrelated. I wanted the podcast to evolve, so by season five or six, maybe only one episode per season would tie into Tom Hanks or Band of Brothers.”

However, he admitted that planning for a fourth season became trickier after Tom so sensationally agreed to appear on the show. “If we were to come back, it would have to be different, possibly more casual and less polished, like a casual conversation rather than a highly crafted podcast.”

Reflecting on the conclusion of Dead Eyes, the host expressed their satisfaction, stating, “Dead Eyes ended with a perfect ending.” However, this perfect ending wasn’t so much a strategic choice, as the universe smiling down on Connor. “What some people have identified as a “perfect ending” was really never intended to be a series finale. I just haven’t cracked what the 4th season should be, and maybe I never will.”

Despite the unplanned ending, the quality of Dead Eyes was such that awards seemed within reach. “We had this thing, partly as a joke, partly serious, which was, could we get a Peabody Award? I thought, ‘Could we actually get a Peabody Award?’ And one of the critics who named the show the best podcast of last year… They were on the Peabody jury, so I thought, maybe we have a chance. I thought we had a shot with the World War II episode. I thought, ‘This is serious enough.’

Connor ended with some contemplation on the impact of ultimately not receiving said Peabody nomination, saying, “Ultimately though, not getting the nomination had the opposite effect. It made me think, maybe we shouldn’t come back. I can’t imagine that with the ideas I have now, a new season would surpass the third season. Until I have that feeling or unless I’m desperate for an additional source of income, I would probably be more likely to create another podcast before considering a return to Dead Eyes. Right now, it just feels like there’s a sense of closure and satisfaction with how it ended.”

Ok, so maybe Season 4 isn’t imminent, or even likely, but…there’s hope. However before Connor Ratliff returns to thoughts of Season 4, he has that month in Edinburgh to negotiate. That’s right, Connor is playing the Edinburgh International Fringe this year, with not 1, but 3 shows. You can read more about that via the links below.