Nero's Class is a comic book for the ears: a full-cast podcast adventure/comedy series for ages 7 to 407 - listen to the first episode of the new season above!
This ambitious and imaginative RTÉ podcast recently won the Best Family award at the Irish Podcast Awards, where it was also shortlisted for Best Comedy and Best Fiction. It's also up for the Best Comedy award at next week's Torc Awards in Cardiff.
Series One aired in late 2022, and the show has just returned for Series Two. As well as introducing three new young acting talents (Rian Sheridan, Elsie Akinduko and Penny O'Dwyer), the cast includes a number of experienced comics, actors and musicians including Hugh Cooney, Peter McGann, Aoife Spratt and Bronwyn Murphy-White.
Acclaimed author Séamas O'Reilly recently called it "a treasure and a delight".
Here, then are six reasons why Nero's Class is your kids' new favourite podcast... even if they haven't heard it yet...
Penny O'Dwyer & Rian Sheridan
1. IT'S EDUCATIONAL... OR IS IT?
You might expect a show called Nero's Class to be a purely didactic affair... and oh how Professor Nero wishes that it was. Alas, it's never long before an uninvited guest shows up, or a strange map lands in their lap, or their magical treehouse decides to whisk them away on an unscheduled school tour. For your kids, it's the most fun they can have without gazing into a screen... but that's not to say that there's nothing to be learned from it. "Deep down," according to the show's creator Bobby Aherne, "it's a show about the power of community, being yourself, celebrating weirdness, rolling with the punches, and savouring the choose-your-own-adventure nature of childhood."
2. IT'S IRISH... VERY IRISH
In recent years, children worldwide have tuned into American radio dramas like Eleanor Amplified, The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel and The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian. Along with RTEjr's Cereal, Nero's Class is now putting an unmistakably Irish spin on the format.
Although set against a backdrop rooted in quirky Irish folklore and tradition, the show cleverly uses this as a springboard to forge its own unique mythology, rather than retelling the same old familiar tales. It's filled with Hiberno-English lingo, a uniquely Irish wit, and a smorgasbord of accents from around the country... but it presents all of this in a way that's accessible to children of any nationality or background.
Bluey taught kids worldwide the meaning of words like "dunny" and "bin chicken". Will Nero's Class do the same for "jacks" and "leg it"?
3. THE KIDS ARE IN CONTROL
The unpredictable nature of the show is evident from the moment we learn that Nero's three pupils are called Rowan, Jacaranda and... well, "Scoochie Kaboochie". Your kids can leave behind all of their expectations as they journey to the mythical island of Mrunglody, where the kids are in their comfort zone and it's the adult (Professor Nero) who has to relearn everything that he's ever known. "He's a bit of an eejit," says Hugh Cooney, the voice behind the teacher. "He tries his best and fancies himself as being quite smart, but he's in over his head with the supernatural goings-on in Mrunglody." Time and time again, it's his three pupils who have to help him out of a jam.
4. PARENTS WON'T HATE IT, EVEN ON A LOOP
Nero's Class doesn't pander to a younger audience. In fact, there are times when it almost feels like a parody of children's shows (look no further than the episode Free Stuff Cave, featuring a satire of excruciating "Edutainment" programmes). "I made this show for myself," Aherne says. "Myself when I was 12, but also myself now. Screwball fantasy is my jam. Honestly, if I'd been making this for RTÉ2 instead of RTÉ Kids, I still would've delivered the exact same show." It may bring to mind the output of Cartoon Network or 90s Nickelodeon, but there's another beloved touchstone, much closer to home: "One of the actors said that it reminded him of The Den specials, only with Nero as the human and pupils instead of puppets. I couldn't have dreamed of a nicer comparison."
5. YOU'LL ALL BE HUMMING THE MUSIC
The show's creator earned his stripes as the songwriter behind the indie-pop acts No Monster Club and Sir Bobby Jukebox, so he also created an extensive original soundtrack to complement the twists and turns of his scripts. As well as the catchy theme music and hit singles from Mrunglodian popstar Sylvia Barbados, the series is filled with a number of in-show advertisements and theme tunes... amounting to well over 100 pieces of music across both series, so far. "Music is such a huge part of the show's set design that I was coming up with the melodies as I wrote, embedding them into the script. I loved being able to dabble across different styles and instruments. And when else am I gonna be asked to compose a radio jingle for a shady business called CASH FOR PIGS?"
6. THE AHWUJJASTOP, THE SCAPE GOAT, THE WISHY-WASHY GUY, FLUFFY GRANDDAD AND SOGGY BREAD MAN
If you know, you know. If you don't, it's time to find out...
Both seasons of Nero's Class are available here, or wherever you get your podcasts.
