Janielle Kastner

ORIGINAL PODCAST

UNTITLED DAD PROJECT is one writer’s meta-narrative quest to tell her own story, reckon with her Dad Character, and finally find a meaningful narrative resolution.

Janielle never knew the story of why her dad wasn’t in her life. Once she gets his email address and decides to reach out (now things are getting interesting…) he’s declared dead on her birthday (weirdly on-the-nose) and she discovers none of his friends knew she existed (…wtf is this soap opera?!).

In lieu of emotional closure, Janielle begins a four-year quest for narrative closure. Enlisting the help of a director, she interviews a slew of creative experts and characters who knew her father. Each episode she explores a narrative theme (Genre, Plot, etc.) and extends herself the same honesty and dignity she would to any of her protagonists.

Spanning four years in 10 episodes, Untitled Dad Project is a surprisingly funny and unflinchingly intimate investigation into the grieving process by-way-of the creative process. Therapy meets writing workshop meets thoughtful interviews, UDP ultimately explores how we make meaning from tragedy, what the hell we’re supposed to do with our Dad Characters, and the power of reclaiming our own stories.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCING / SHOWRUNNING