Today, media company Meet Cute, which has produced over 300 original audio rom-coms since its inception, has announced their latest partnership withPretty Little LiarsauthorSara Shepardon a new scripted podcast. The nine-part series, titledCruise Ship, will premiere on July 6 with new episodes dropping each Tuesday throughout the summer month.
Shepard first conceived the idea ofCruise Shipwhile the world was technically shut down thanks to COVID-19, in the fall of 2020. The desire for escapism from present circumstances led the author to mull over the idea of a set-piece where a lot of meet-cutes (a term most often used in romance where two people destined to fall in love encounter each other for the first time) would take place. Enter:Cruise Ship, which takes a page from the classic seriesThe Love Boatwhile also blending in elements of another popular rom-com,Love, Actually.
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“Sara has incredible energy, is full of ideas, and open to deep creative collaboration,” saidNaomi Shah, Founder + CEO of Meet Cute, in a provided statement. “The nine stories in this series are fifteen minutes each, the same length as every Meet Cute story. They are purposefully designed to give our audience a break from their day, a feel-good rom-com in their pockets wherever they are and whenever they need it. It’s so needed in our world today, and working with Sara on Cruise Ship is a great reminder of that.”
Cruise Shipwill be available on all audio platforms includingApple PodcastsandSpotifybeginning July 6, with new episodes releasing every Tuesday. Check out the show’s official synopsis below:
In a modern retelling of the classic show, The Love Boat, bestselling author Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars) launches the cruise ship Queen Beatrice in her inaugural voyage. In this nine-part season, we meet Corby, our peppy cruise director as she tries to get the stern Captain Karl to warm up on the cold seas; Frieda unexpectedly meets Loren at her cousin’s complicated wedding; crewmembers Faye, Harrison and celebrity chef Gabriel form a perfect Bermuda love triangle; in the backdrop of the first onboard Scrabble tournament, Renata teaches newly widowed Edie what it means to be a trans woman in the 21st century; Foster mistakenly books a voyage on the QB’s first cat cruise (he’s allergic) but gets a few pointers from stowaway Lara who has a big secret of her own; teenage bookworm Nessie reluctantly heads onshore to the Irish island of Inis Mor and meets Fintan who shows her that adventure can be found outside the pages of a book; after a series of mishaps, scientist Jonah falls for paralympian Cole at an onboard marathon.
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