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The Miranda Obsession

By: Jen Silverman
Narrated by: Rachel Brosnahan, Josh Groban, John Benjamin Hickey, Morgan Spector, Harry Lloyd, Milo Ventimiglia, full cast
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Publisher's summary

Emmy Award-winning actress Rachel Brosnahan brings to life a thrilling tale of intimacy and self-invention inspired by one of Hollywood’s most alluring stories of the 1980s. Josh Groban, John Benjamin Hickey, Harry Lloyd, Morgan Spector, and Milo Ventimiglia also star, playing some of the most powerful and famous men of the decade, who fall under Miranda’s enigmatic and captivating spell.

Imagine a 1980s world of sumptuous hotel rooms, restaurants, New York City penthouses, and the powerful men who move easily between these pinnacles of luxury. They are music producers, rock stars, writers, and restaurateurs. They are household names like Billy Joel, Art Garfunkel, Eric Clapton, and Sting. And yet, each man has an entire aspect to his life that he doesn’t talk about publicly—his depression, his rocky marriage, his feelings of shame and failure, his private loss of faith. And now: The phone rings. Imagine the woman who has each of these men at her beck and call. Late at night, on the other end of the line, she projects a confidence and glamour that immediately disarms them. They don’t know her, but she intimately understands the feelings they’ve never articulated to anybody else, and she muses—low and soft, never making them feel uncomfortable—on what it means that they feel this way, and why. When these men talk to Miranda, they never feel alone. And when she talks to them, she feels alive. Before long, they’re giving her insider tidbits—on new mergers, movies, albums, restaurants—and she’s collecting this information like the currency it is. Then she vanishes, sometimes for weeks at a time, while they wait on edge for her to call again.

Her name is Miranda Grosvenor, and the telephone persona that she has invented—a desirable, connected, compassionate, power player—is the person she lives to be. But who is Miranda, really? As the relationships between Miranda and the famous men she calls escalate, it becomes clear that Miranda may not be who she says she is and that her game is no longer a game at all.

Set in the glitzy world of 1980s Hollywood The Miranda Obsession stars Brosnahan as Miranda, along with an A-list cast. By turns enticing and voyeuristic, gripping and empathetic, this complex and nuanced character-driven drama examines the lengths to which we go to achieve intimacy and connection with each other, and the lengths some of us will go to feel something real.

©2022 Vice Media Group LLC, Wingate Media, and Scrap Paper Pictures (P)2022 Vice Media Group LLC, Wingate Media, and Scrap Paper Pictures
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About the Writer

Jen Silverman is a New York-based writer and playwright. Jen is the author of plays Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties, The Moors, The Roommate, and Witch, as well as the debut novel We Play Ourselves and story collection The Island Dwellers (Random House). Additional essays and poetry have appeared in Vogue, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, LitHub, and elsewhere. Jen’s plays have been produced off-Broadway, across the United States, and internationally. Jen is a 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, a three-time MacDowell Fellow, a member of New Dramatists, and the recipient of fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and the Yale Drama Series Award. Jen also writes for TV, film, and most recently the narrative podcast The Miranda Obsession for Audible and Vice.

About the Performer

Rachel Brosnahan currently plays Miriam ‘Midge’ Maisel in the critically acclaimed Amazon Prime Video series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Since the show’s premiere in 2017, Brosnahan has received an Emmy, two Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Critic’s Choice Awards,and more for her performance. She is also known for her work as Rachel Posner in Netflix’s groundbreaking series House of Cards, for which she received a 2015 Emmy nomination./n/nOn the big screen, Brosnahan stars in the upcoming Dead For A Dollar opposite Christoph Waltz and Willem Dafoe, and it was recently announced that she will star in and executive produce The Switch with Amblin Entertainment. Other film and television credits include The Courier, I’m Your Woman, Patriots Day, Burn Country, The Finest Hours, Louder Than Bombs, Beautiful Creatures, The Blacklist, and Manhattan.
Brosnahan’s production banner Scrap Paper Pictures has a first-look deal with Amazon Studios Television.

About the Performer

Tony, Emmy, and four-time Grammy Award-nominated singer, songwriter, actor, and philanthropist Josh Groban possesses one of the most outstanding and instantly recognizable voices in music. Moreover, he continues to captivate fans everywhere as both a powerhouse vocalist and dynamic renaissance man. He has sold over 35 million albums worldwide, headlined legendary venues on multiple continents, and entertained audiences with acclaimed film and television appearances. His catalog spans a series of chart-topping blockbuster albums, including Josh Groban (five times platinum), Closer (six times platinum), Noël (six times platinum), Awake (two times platinum), Illuminations, All That Echoes (gold), Stages (gold), his first UK #1 album Bridges, and his most recent release, Harmony. Along the way, he packed arenas throughout North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.
Extending his repertoire, Groban made his Broadway debut in 2016 with a starring role in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 and garnered a Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actor In A Musical. He has expanded his presence with appearances on Glee, The Simpsons, The Office, CSI: NY, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and The Crazy Ones as well as in the feature films Coffee Town, Muppets Most Wanted, and Crazy,Stupid, Love*. In addition, he starred in the Netflix series The Good Cop in 2018.
Groban maintains his position as the consummate American showman in 2022 and beyond. This year, he returns to the hallowed stage of Radio City Music Hall for his Great Big Radio City Show residency and launches a nationwide live tour. Groban remains an active arts education philanthropist and advocate, and his Find Your Light Foundation helps enrich the lives of young people through arts, education, and cultural awareness.

About the Performer

John Benjamin Hickey is currently preparing to make his Broadway directorial debut with the revival of Neil Simon's Plaza Suite starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, following a sold-out run at the Colonial Theatre in Boston. John played Henry Wilcox in the acclaimed play The Inheritance on Broadway and the West End London. He won a 2020 Outer Critics Circle award and was nominated for a 2020 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance. John's latest film, Sublet, premiered at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. He can also be seen starring alongside Matt Smith in Mapplethorpe, in the critically acclaimed Netflix release Tallulah, the Barack Obama biopic Barry, and Scott Cooper’s Hostiles. Other credits include The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Truth, Big Stone Gap, Get on Up, Pitch Perfect, Flags of Our Fathers, The Anniversary Party, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.
In television, he received an Emmy Award nomination for his work on the Showtime series The Big C. John later went on to star in the critically acclaimed WGN America series Manhattan.Other television credits include The Good Wife, Modern Family, Hannibal, The New Normal, Sex and the City, Law & Order, Mom, and the fourth season of In Treatment with Uzo Aduba. On Broadway, John won the 2011 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Drama Desk Award for his performance in The Normal Heart.

About the Performer

Morgan Spector can currently be seen in the new HBO series The Gilded Age from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, starring alongside Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, and Cynthia Nixon./n/nSpector received critical acclaim, including a Critics Choice nomination, for his work in David Simon’s The Plot Against America opposite Winona Ryder, John Turturro, and Zoe Kazan. Additional TV credits include Homeland (Showtime), and Boardwalk Empire (HBO), as well as leads on Pearson (USA), The Mist (Spike) and Allegiance (NBC).
On the big screen, his credits include Nanny, which was awarded the Grand Jury Prize in the US Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, A Vigilante opposite Olivia Wilde, the relationship drama Permission opposite Dan Stevens and Rebecca Hall, and a turn as Sylvester Stallone in director Philippe Falardeau's biopic Chuck, the true story of boxer Chuck Wepner, who inspired the film series Rocky.
Spector is also featured in Audible’s upcoming scripted podcast The Miranda Obsession./n/nIn addition, he directed the short "Mother!!" for the short film collection With/in: Volume 1 which had its premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. He also produced the documentary The Big Scary ’S’ Word.
On stage, Spector made his Broadway debut in 2010 in Gregory Mosher's Tony Award-winning revival of Arthur Miller's View from the Bridge starring opposite Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson. He was later nominated for a Drama Desk Award for his performance in the New Group's production of Erika Sheffer's Russian Transport starring Janeane Garofalo. Other significant stage performances include Harvey and Machinal on Broadway, Ironbound (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), and Incognito (Manhattan Theatre Club). Spector was last seen onstage off-Broadway in Clare Lizzimore's Animal starring opposite Rebecca Hall at the Atlantic Theatre.
A graduate of Reed College and the prestigious American Conservatory Theater, Spector lives in New York with his wife and daughter.

About the Performer

Harry Lloyd can next be seen in Stephen Frears’ upcoming feature drama The Lost King alongside Sally Hawkins, Steve Coogan, and Phoebe Pryce. Harry stars in the Peacock series Brave New World, which follows a fantastical futuristic story based on Aldous Huxley’s novel. He can be seen in the Starz series Counterpart with JK Simmons and Olivia Williams, a sci-fi/metaphysical thriller created by Justin Marks. He appeared in Sean Ellis’ independent film, Anthropoid opposite Jamie Dornan and Cillian Murphy. Lloyd also starred in Netflix/ITV crime-thriller series Marcella created by Hans Rosenfeldt and Nicola Larder. In late 2016, Harry performed in John Malkovich’s Good Canary opposite Freya Mavor at the Rose Theatre Kingston./n/nLloyd starred in WGN’s drama series Manhattan from writer Sam Shaw and director Thomas Schlamme. He was also in the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything co-starring with Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. You may recognize Harry from his portrayal of Viserys Targaryen in HBO’s hit Game of Thrones or 2012’s The Iron Lady, in which he starred alongside Meryl Streep. Harry has had a number of scene-stealing turns in projects as diverse as Doctor Who(BBC), the critically acclaimed and award-winning The Hollow Crown(NBC/BBC), The Devil’s Whore (Channel 4), and Robin Hood (BBC).

About the Performer

Milo Ventimiglia is an American actor, director, and producer.
Milo currently stars on the critically acclaimed NBC drama series This is Us. He has been nominated three times for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and a Critic’s Choice Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of the family patriarch, Jack Pearson. The show won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series two years in a row and the People’s Choice Award for Best New Drama. Milo was named the 2019 Man of the Year by the Harvard Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical organization in the U.S., and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2022.
In 2016 Milo reprised his role of Jess in the continuation of critically acclaimed television drama Gilmore Girls, which returned with four 90-minute episodes on Netflix called Gilmore Girls; A Year in the Life. He has a guest starring role in the current season of The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, which reunites him with Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. His other television credits include a memorable recurring role as Jason "The Ogr" Lennon in the Fox drama Gotham, the Frank Darabont-helmed TNT drama Lost Angels, NBC’s Heroes, the critically acclaimed drama American Dreams, and David. E. Kelley’s drama Boston Public.
Milo’s passion for the art of acting keeps him drawn to both studio and independent features. Milo starred in Disney’s The Art of Racing in the Rain, an adaptation of the international bestselling novel by Garth Stein. The book focuses on a family dog named Enzo who evaluates his life through the lessons learned by his human owner, a professional racecar driver named Denny Swift, played by Milo. He starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in the romantic comedy Second Act and had a memorable cameo in Creed II. He starred alongside Sylvester Stallone as his son in the sixth installment of the Rocky series, Rocky Balboa, in Adam Sandler’s That’s My Boy and Grown Ups 2, and alongside Nicole Kidman in Grace of Monaco.
Through his production company, DiVide Pictures, Milo executive produces the dramedy Relationship Status, which debuted at Tribeca and premiered in 2016 exclusively on the streaming video app Verizon G90. He produced and starred in the web series Chosen, which launched on the multi-platform entertainment network Crackle and won a Seoul Drama Award in 2015. DiVide currently has projects in active development with a variety of networks and Studios. Also under the DiVide banner, Milo launched two comic book titles with Top Cow Productions.
Milo is involved with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America organization (IAVA), which supports veterans who need help when they return home from the war. He recently traveled across three continents to five countries with the USO to spend time over the holidays meeting with the servicemen and women of the armed forces.

What listeners say about The Miranda Obsession

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    4 out of 5 stars

Immediately riveting!

This was so good! I came into Audible looking for a completely different kind of book and saw the image and ad for this and decided to explore what it was about. I happened to accidentally start the title playing in the cloud player and before I knew it, literally within a couple of minutes, I was sucked in. Such a great format, the way the story is presented, especially with such a stellar cast of actors! I finished listening in about 4.5 hours—considering the title was released today it’s clear that I was unable to “put it down.” Wonderful job to all who worked to create this! I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys literally any type of story!

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OBSESSED with the miranda obsession!

WOW. I was super intrigued by the story so I figured I'd give it a try, and I was hooked from the second I started listening. I literally listened to it in one sitting and my jaw kept dropping at the twists and turns. This is the besssst performance podcast I'd ever heard--because its all about audio! The story fit the medium so well, and the whole time I felt like the sneaky fly on the wall listening in on their calls. This was such a well executed way to tell the story, and the performances were seriously phenomenal. I felt like everything about it was well-crafted and considered—all the way down to the dial tone being used in the theme song! Definitely a must-listen.

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No story but excellent execution…

The idea of phone catfishing before the internet (to those who weren’t around be fore the internet) may seem glamorous but this is just a crazy person harassing people and we’re supposed to feel sorry for her because of her low self esteem or some gender based power imbalance? She knew who she was calling and pretended to be someone other than who she was and then was hurt when it turned out her BS wasn’t real. I dunno. I actually knew someone who did this and you have to be a fractured individual in more than one facet of your life to devote this much time and energy to messing with peoples’ heads. Great work by the voice actors but just can’t like this one completely.

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Engrossing and captivating

If the story doesn’t reel you in, the performance certainly will. When Buck Henry receives a call from the mysterious Miranda, it feels too good to be true.. but it must be true. She knows everyone and has loads of insider information. She’s so charming and he feels excited every time he hears her voice. Is Miranda who she says she is? Why is she calling?

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obsessed!

it's all that it promises and more. I absolutely loved it... I'm totally obsessed now!

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Fantastic

This was so interesting and fun. The performance was great too, they hooked me from the very beginning. and ... it's based on a true story, just wow. Give this a listen.

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Excellent short story

Way better than expected. Miranda’s voice alone is worth the credit. I’ve never heard or seen that actress before, but she nailed this part. What an excellent and interesting ‘true’ story. Wow

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Wow! Stop what you are doing… You have to listen to this!

Wow! This story was amazing. Rachel and cast were all phenomenal. I was never a big fan of podcasts - But this has converted me. The acting - the music - the story - the ending - it was all mind blowing. Kudos to everyone involved in the making of this truly unique production.
If you are looking to be entertained - If you are looking for something different - then download this. I take that back - Who cares what you are looking for… Just download this - I promise you will not be disappointed!!!

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wonderfully entertaining

Thank you guys for your work, I enjoyed every second of it. Please keep her alive.

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Riveting!

Wow! Especially for those of us who came of age in the 80s, this is a delightful treat. Fun and compelling in format and content, the perfect frothy listen that I was looking for today. I also loved the author’s novel, “we play ourselves.”

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