Wonkybot Studios is rolling out The Dr. Epicopolis & 1102 Show of Shows, a 10-episode meta-comedy scripted podcast series aimed at kids 9+ from creator/writer Stewart St John.

Centering around the egomaniacal and emotionally unstable mad scientist Dr. Epicopolis who, along with his good-natured but horribly mistreated assistant 1102, is trying to rid the planet of superheroes so he can take over Earth, the series is a spin-off from Wonkybot’s award-winning flagship podcast series Tara Tremendous. Sarah Douglas, star of the original Superman films and Netflix’ A Christmas Prince trilogy, guest stars as herself in the premiere episode which is available today at Wonkybot.com.

“Fans of the Tara Tremendous series have always enjoyed the comedy between Dr. Epicolopolis and his slog 1102,” said Wonkybot founder and series creator Stewart St John. “So I was keen to develop a series that brought their tempestuous, bickering but lovable relationship to the forefront.”

As listeners of the Tara Tremendous podcast know, Dr. Epicopolis — aka ‘Dr. Epic’ — is the “genius” responsible for Tara accidentally acquiring the powers of every superhero in the world, powers that were meant for him. “Tara is the bane of his existence,” added St John. “But in the new series we’ll go beyond his vendetta with Tara and delve into his outrageous plots to bring about the end of all superheroes on Earth so he can become Supreme Ruler… which will never, ever happen.”

The series launches with a meta-storyline involving Dr. Epicopolis’ zany scheme to create Sarah Douglas clones in order to rule the world. “I wrote the episode and immediately approached Sarah about recording a very tongue-in-cheek performance,” said St John. “I was thrilled when she said yes. Sarah is such a gifted actress, whether she’s doing serious roles or comedy sketches, she always knocks it out of the park.”

“We were in the midst of a pandemic when Stewart telephoned me,” recalls Douglas. “He’s in the US, and I’m in the UK locked up in my house itching to have some fun… and I read his crazy script with Sarah Douglas clones and what not and said ‘what the bloody hell, let’s do it!'”

Despite the challenges of executing a scripted fictional comedy podcast during the pandemic, Wonkybot was able to push ahead by adopting a remote process including Stewart directing over Zoom and finding professional equipment that allowed the cast to record studio-quality audio from home.

In addition to writing and directing the series, St John also voices the Dr. Epic character, while Michael Plahuta, St John’s musical partner and co-founder of Wonkybot, performs as 1102. Produced by St John, Plahuta and Wonkybot co-founder Todd Fisher.