John Mateer's 'METRONOME'
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| John Mateer's 'METRONOME' | |
|---|---|
| File:John Mateer's 'METRONOME' Artwork.jpg Cover art as displayed on streaming services. | |
| Presentation | |
| Starring |
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| Genre | Psychological thriller |
| Created by | John Mateer |
| Written by |
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| Directed by | John Mateer |
| Language | English |
| Updates | Cancelled |
| Length | 20 minutes |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Production | RMStudios |
| Audio format | Podcast (via streaming or downloadable MP3) |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 5 |
| Publication | |
| Original release | 30 August – 31 October 2022[1] |
| Provider | |
| Related | |
| Followed by | John Mateer's 'Nothing But the Truth' |
Ratings:
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John Mateer's 'METRONOME' is a psychological thriller podcast written and directed by John Mateer, and originally aired from August 30th, 2022, until October 31st, 2022. The show features a full cast of actors and stars the show's creator as the main protagonist, Ellis Sterling. 'METRONOME' touches upon topics such as psychological abuse and personality disorders.[2][3]
Plot
The show opens in New Orleans on a traumatized Ellis Sterling trying to figure out his life before he decides to make his return to New York City. Ellis seeks the help of a local therapist, Doctor Grace, and he is requested to recount his time in New York — leading us directly into a prolonged flashback.
Ellis Sterling is an aspiring radio host who moves to New York City from San Francisco to pursue his dream. While setting up his new apartment, Ellis' moving truck drives off on him with all of his furniture. His proceeding distress is mimicked by a nearby regular outside of the bar, Finnigan's, which Ellis lives directly above. This stranger introduces himself as Jake, and he invites Ellis to drink with him. Inside of Finnigan's, Jake meets the bartender Paul and talks with Jake over a game of darts where Ellis throws a Robin Hood. Jake picks fun at Ellis' name before laughing wildly upon discovering that Ellis had moved into apartment 1A — directly above Finnigan's. The two men quickly form a one-sided friendship.[4][5]
Later that day, Ellis is trying to record an episode of his radio show, but he is interrupted by a phone call from his sister Rachel. Rachel rants to Ellis about how unsafe New York City has become, and when Ellis questions her about the source of this information, she shares that she had seen it on social media. Ellis hangs up on Rachel, dismissing her claims, and goes back to recording his show. Ellis is interrupted yet again by someone banging at his apartment door which scares him, but it turns out to just be Jake from before. Jake invites himself inside of Ellis' apartment and asks Ellis to help stage a crisis situation in order to get his ex-girlfriend arrested for stalking. Ellis meets this request with disbelief and rejection, and Jake dismisses the suggestion as nothing more than a practical joke. Jake again invites Ellis to drink with him later that evening at Finnigan's before making inappropriate commentary about Ellis' mother while leaving his apartment.
That night, when Ellis goes to meet Jake at Finnigan's, he is taken aback by the police presence outside of the bar. Ellis observes as a distressed woman is handcuffed and put in the back of a police car — pleading with bystanders to help and officers to let her go; claiming that she had been set up. The woman asserts that she wasn't stalking anybody, and immediately Ellis knows what had happened.[6]
Ellis is lightly reprimanded by Jake for showing up late to Finnigan's. He is distracted by racing thoughts about what he had just witnessed but pulled back into focus by the insistent giggling of Jake's date, Blondie. Ellis orders a whiskey sour as they all cheers to Ellis' move to New York and to new friends.
Days later, Ellis is out to lunch with Jake's ex-girlfriend who had been arrested outside of Finnigan's. She shares that Jake would lie so much that she isn't even sure she is aware of who she had dated and that she is convinced that Jake is a demon. She also acknowledges the fact that all women probably think this of their ex-partners which makes her seem like the "crazy one". Ellis tells her that he believes her.
Later, Ellis updates his radio show about the occurrences, and he is elated to see that this show has one listener — which is "one more than last episode". Jake shows up at Ellis' apartment and offers him what he claims to be MDMA, and despite skepticism about the appearance of the drug Jake hands him, Ellis takes it before passing out from its effects.
Ellis awakens, still delirious from the drug he took, chained up in a dungeon-like environment. Jake enters and Ellis begins begging him to explain what is going on. Jake goes into a monologue about how he enjoys the act of sweeping women off of their feet before coldly discarding them — in a similar fashion to that of a narcissist. Jake is revealed to be the one listener of Ellis' show before starting up what sounds like a chainsaw as Ellis screams for Jake to stop.[4]
Cast
- John Mateer as Ellis Sterling
- Christopher Marsh as Jake
- Delaney Gilmour as Blondie
- Steve Walsh as Paul
- Sophia Pinciotto as Doctor Grace
- Jaclyn Weiner as Rachel Sterling
- Kelly Osbourne as Time Teller
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "...Now What?" | John Mateer | John Mateer | August 30, 2022 |
| 2 | 2 | "Ol' Finnigan's" | John Mateer | John Mateer & Erika Russo | September 13, 2022 |
| 3 | 3 | "Ex or X?" | John Mateer | John Mateer & Erika Russo | October 18, 2022 |
| 4 | 4 | "Halloween" | John Mateer | John Mateer & Erika Russo | October 31, 2022 |
| 5 | 5 | "Trial & Error" | John Mateer | John Mateer & Erika Russo | Cancelled |
Reception
John Mateer's 'METRONOME' ranks globally in the top 3% of all podcasts according to Listen Notes, with the comment "morbid laughter turns twisted as METRONOME takes you on a joyride through the deep, dark and claustrophobic universe of Ellis Sterling".[8] Jacki Puckman of EV Artwar wrote "The show is definitely a debut piece, but don't hate on Mateer because it's the best debut I've heard in a long time. Maybe next series when he gets his footing. For now, I will enjoy the chaos."[9] The show has a rating of 8.5 out of 10 stars on IMDb[1] and 4.8 out of 5 stars on Spotify.[10]
References
- ^ a b c d John Mateer's 'METRONOME' (Podcast Series - 2022) (Horror, Thriller (Podcast)), IMDb, 2022-08-30, archived from the original on 2023-06-17, retrieved 2023-06-17
- ^ "August 2022 Audio Drama, Book and RPG Podcast Debut Releases". www.thecambridgegeek.com. Archived from the original on 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ "Audio-Drama.com - John Mateer's 'METRONOME'". audio-drama.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-24. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ a b c d "iHeart - John Mateer's 'METRONOME'". iHeartRadio. Archived from the original on 2022-12-01.
- ^ "John Mateer's 'METRONOME' Podcast - Listen, Reviews, Charts". chartable.com. Archived from the original on 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ "John Mateer's 'METRONOME' on Stitcher". Stitcher. Archived from the original on 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ "Release "John Mateer's 'METRONOME'" by John Mateer - MusicBrainz". musicbrainz. Archived from the original on 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ "John Mateer's 'METRONOME'". Listen Notes. 2022-10-18. Archived from the original on 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ Critic Reviews - John Mateer's 'METRONOME' (Horror, Thriller), RMStudios, 2022-08-30, archived from the original on 2023-06-17, retrieved 2023-06-17
{{citation}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; 2023-02-27 suggested (help) - ^ "John Mateer's 'METRONOME' - Spotify". Spotify. Archived from the original on 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
