The Salvation was produced by Fresh Produce Media and Free Turn Entertainment (out of the UK) to use the medium of audio and the styles of action-adventure and time travel to do something novel for both form and genre: tell an intimate, immersive story that utilizes tropes we typically associate with blockbuster films to get across messages that typically are not associated with those films.. Through a story dealing with warfare and the effects of PTSD, the series gets at the importance of mental health and vulnerability, the evolution of race relations over time and place, and the dangers of toxic masculinity.
More on the series: The Salvation follows David Miller (Ariyon Bakare), follows David Miller (Bakare), a war-scarred Afghanistan veteran grappling with PTSD, as he makes a startling discovery—his traumatic flashbacks are gateways to time travel. Recruited by the shadowy Fallen Arrow, David undergoes a surreal transformation into a time agent, wielding a unique power triggered by “The Lullaby.” His mission: apprehending a rogue soldier wreaking havoc throughout history. As David navigates a secret war for time-altering technology, he must safeguard his newfound abilities from rival factions.
David’s perilous missions across pivotal moments in history - from the Great War to the Cold War and beyond - weave a mind-bending narrative that spans decades and challenges reality itself.
For the project’s unique international, history-focused scope, the creators of The Salvation put together a multinational team composed of Fresh Produce Media, a full-service audio production company and frequent Audible collaborator based in the US, and Free Turn Media, led by Jon Hamm in the UK.
Fresh Produce has a history of working on music-focused programming (past projects include the music-focused series Origins, ft. Billie Eilish and Doja Cat, and Punk in Translation, a docuseries on punk’s Latin roots), and the overall sound of the project (including its original score) was extremely important to the entire storytelling team, to create an immersive experience that would transport listeners through the times and places the series visits.
To that end, the series was written by someone with an innate understanding of the importance of sound - multi-platinum selling musical artist and writer Justin Lockey of the band Editors, who drew on inspiration from a lifelong fascination with time and history to accomplish the series’ narrative goals. The series was directed by Boz Temple-Morris, whose own company Holy Mountain specializes in audio storytelling and sonic branding.
And to marry the show’s action-adventure genre with its underlying themes of mental health and race, the team behind the show knew they needed to assemble a cast of dramatic actors who could pack the maximum emotional punch via the audio format - stars Ariyon Bakare (His Dark Materials), Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones), and Toby Jones, OBE (The Hunger Games, voice of Dobby in Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) ultimately were chosen to voice the project.
The Salvation’s accolades (named a “Best Podcast” by The Guardian, named to Audible’s “Best of Year” list of projects for 2023), and the ultimate acting talent who came on board, are a testament to the success of this project to straddle the line between epic drama, emotional intensity, and resultant impact.
