The creators behind Netflix’s hit video game adaptation Castlevania are taking their talents to the audio drama format with a new podcast titled The Department of Midnight. Producers Fred Seibert and Kevin Kolde, the latter of whom also served as co-showrunner on the Netflix series and the showrunner on its follow-up, Castlevania: Nocturne, recently launched their new podcast studio, The Bellport Theater On The Air, and the supernatural thriller will be their debut release. To celebrate the audio drama’s launch on August 20, Collider is excited to exclusively share the official trailer showing off the talented cast and teasing a twisted mystery ahead.

Hailing from Castlevania mastermind and Iron Man 3 inspiration Warren Ellis, The Department of Midnight primarily follows Dr. John Carnack (James Callis), a troubled researcher whose disastrous experiments with dark matter led to tragedy and spurred him to join the titular organization to seek redemption. Now an investigator of the same dangerous work he once conducted, he seeks to prevent further ruin, though he soon notices a pattern that all points back to him. The harm in these experiments stems back to a scientific theory that dark matter is information. Awakening this fifth form of matter through tests, however, can unleash dark things upon the world that should not be let out.

In the trailer, snippets of Carnack’s efforts are heard as he tries desperately to stop various experimenters from moving forward. Though he doesn’t detail the bad things that await, the consequences are teased with roars and panicking from those who try to escape whatever horrors the matter has unleashed. These researchers aren’t making John’s job any easier, either. One speaker insists that dark matter is humanity’s way of communicating with the devil, while another believes it’s the key to answering the truths of reality and is fed up with others trying to tell her how to conduct her work. All the while, John is seemingly haunted by what happened at Wardenclyffe, presumably where he experienced tragedy as a consequence of playing with dark matter, as other researchers and investigators taunt and question him about what happened on that fateful day.

Check out the trailer for the series below; it will be released on August 20, 2024!