Barnaby Druthers Season 4 Begins and the Plan Moving Forward

It occurred to me that as we continue forward in our audio theater journey in our fourth season of Druthers, that new listeners and stations may seek a specific jumping on point to begin their Druthers journey with us.

At its heart, Barnaby Druthers is an episodic adventure series where any listener can begin at any point and, if they so desire, they can search through archives for prior adventures where details can add rich context to current stories. That being said, there is something satisfying about starting at a “beginning” and then seeing the progression of the characters’ development.

When we began telling Druthers stories, we created comedy skits which, as it turns out, aren’t canon in the history of the character. Still, within the early stories, there was a recurring device of referring to “The Case of the Five Buttons” as Barnaby’s first case that put him on the map. For years it was my intention to never tell that story, leaving it to the imagination of the listeners.

But as the show continued to grow and evolve. the more I realized how essential it was to provide the foundation to the series, to have the specific launching point set, so when we look to our north star and set sail, it is clear and evident that we have charted a course to an identifiable destination. There is a definitive theme to the stories, a clear and planned out character path, and a beginning, middle and end to the life and times of Barnaby Druthers. There are different categories of stories along the timeline and each will be exciting to explore together.

As we continue through the years telling our stories, I want the program to jump to different points along that time line. The core element of the Barnaby Druthers show as an episodic adventure series will always be paramount, but if we place our markers at certain points, we can weave an intricate tapestry of tales that become “Essential Druthers”. If we are fortunate enough to have an extraordinary number of stories, there will always be “Essential Druthers” marking the path.

So we begin 2023 with telling the tale of Barnaby’s first case “The Case of the Five Buttons”. Once complete, that story will be the launching point for any new listener or station.