Mercury Podcasts: Second Helpings New Season & PastMaster Christmas Special & 2026 Plans

Mercury, an independent podcast network, has announced the launch of the second season of the award-nominated podcast Second Helpings.

The new season introduces a refreshed format, with each episode offering an in-depth analysis of a work of art or pop culture through a mental health and recovery lens. Episodes will be released bi-weekly. Mercury will oversee ad sales and distribution for the series.

The first episode of Season 2 premiered on Thursday, December 4, on all major podcast platforms, examining Taylor Swift’s song “The Fate of Ophelia.” A UNIQUE FOCUS: CULTURAL COMMENTARY MEETS LESSONS IN RECOVERY Second Helpings applies a recovery framework to art and culture, examining films, songs, and books to illuminate experiences related to mental health, depression, and eating disorders. This approach offers a fresh angle that moves beyond what host Alice describes as overly “vicious” or “hypercritical” cultural commentary, instead pairing Maria’s clinical expertise with Alice’s experience in recovery to uncover what art can teach us about healing.  SEASON 2 KICKS OFF WITH A DEEP DIVE INTO TAYLOR SWIFT The Season 2 premiere explores Taylor Swift’s recent single “The Fate of Ophelia,” discussing how Swift, now in a visibly “healed and grounded” era, reframes themes of melancholy and tragedy into something closer to recovery and fulfillment. The episode also includes a detailed analysis of the song’s lyricism and its allusions to Hamlet. WHAT TO EXPECT FROM SEASON 2 Following the premiere, Second Helpings will continue its deep-dive format, applying its recovery framework to a wide range of works, including: Black Swan Normal People Beyoncé’s Lemonade The Virgin Suicides Call Me By Your Name  Second Helpings is an award-nominated podcast exploring mental health and recovery through the lens of art and culture. Hosted by writer and editor Alice Florence Orr and clinical psychologist Maria Wiik, the show is distributed by the Mercury network.

Maria Wiik: Maria is a clinical psychologist and stage and screen actor based in Norway. She brings her professional expertise to interpreting the psychological dimensions of art and culture, with a focus on support, accessibility, and community-based healing. Alice Florence Orr: Alice is a writer, editor, and the Managing Editor of Podcast Review. She holds two Master’s degrees in English Literature. She frames discussions through her lived experience of “the darker realms of mental health and recovery,” including her background in recovering from an eating disorder. Mercury Podcast Network was born from the lived experience of its founder, Liam Heffernan. Like many independent podcasters, Liam began his journey recording shows from a home office in England. Over time, he produced podcasts for others, but his true passion remained with his own projects, the creative work that brought the most joy and personal growth. The challenge, however, was one familiar to countless indie creators: while the shows were strong in content, they lacked the time, visibility, and strategy to grow into sustainable ventures. Promotion and monetization often felt out of reach. Through years of navigating the ups and downs of podcasting, Liam noticed a striking gap in the industry. At one end sit the massive, celebrity-driven shows that dominate listener attention and advertising dollars. At the other, countless small podcasts struggle to find their footing. But in the middle exists a vibrant tier of talented, independent creators, shows too good to be overlooked, yet too small to attract traditional network support. Mercury was designed to serve this overlooked community. Its ambition is clear: to build an ecosystem for independent podcasters to create, collaborate, grow, and earn. Mercury is a big network with an independent spirit, tearing down gatekeepers and giving a platform to the best indie shows. Unlike larger networks burdened by high costs, Mercury is built to grow sustainably, providing the right support without compromising independence. Today, Mercury is home to a diverse slate of standout podcasts — from history and true crime to film, food, and storytelling. Shows include America: A History, Spooky Story Time, Ghastly Women, Verbal Diorama, Second Helpings, Bingewatch, People Who Read People, Douze Points, 5 Random Questions, Dad’s Bedtime Stories, OffScreen, If You Were in Charge, Sexonomic, You’ve Got Mail, and PastMaster. Mercury’s mission is simple but ambitious: to level the playing field, empower indies, and make space for voices that deserve to be heard. **************************************************  PastMaster Christmas Special & 2026 Plans   Mercury Podcasts has announced that this December, PastMaster, the time-travelling, history-bending role-playing podcast powered by AI, will unveil its biggest festive line-up yet, alongside a brand-new mini-series showcasing some of the show’s most ambitious, unhinged and brilliantly chaotic adventures to date. Born from a pub-chat hypothetical (“Could you actually survive if thrown back in time with only your modern-day knowledge?”), PastMaster has since grown into a cult comedy hit. In each episode, hosts Ryan Mulchrone and Tan Parsons are dropped into a different era while their mischievous AI Game Master sets the stakes, spins the chaos and more often than not refuses to help them survive. If you were transported 1,000 years into the past with nothing but the shirt on your back and your 21st-century knowledge, would you thrive… or be burned at the stake as a witch? PastMaster puts that question to the test in a choose-your-own-adventure format like no other. From Ryan’s garden pub in south London, the hosts and their guests jump between centuries, attempting to “win the game” using whatever scraps of history, science and common sense they can muster. Unsurprisingly, it almost never goes to plan. Now part of indie podcast network Mercury, PastMaster has attracted a growing roster of comedy talent including Radio X presenter Matthew Crosby, rapper Nick Horseman, and the marvelous Micky Overman. Above all, PastMaster remains utterly unique, no other podcast simultaneously rewrites history, skewers AI logic, and creates truly hilarious stories in the process. How it works: the team created a bespoke rule system, handed over to an AI model such as ChatGPT, which becomes the all-powerful Game Master. The hosts choose a time period and a mission; the Game Master decides what happens next. It’s in the spirit of classic text-adventure role-playing games, but completely open-ended, meaning anything can happen. Fair warning: there are many terrible attempts at accents. This December, listeners can look forward to a Christmas Special out 22nd of December featuring the cast of the brilliant and award-winning Thots TV podcast (Elsie, Meg & Laura) for a subversive adventure to the Arctic. The guests will be seeking an audience with Father Christmas to receive their presents, but all is not well in Santa’s workshop. What horrors will our intrepid adventurers find waiting for them? And can they save Christmas? Speaking on the podcast so far, co-host Ryan Mulchrone says: “We’ve invented KFC in the Wild West, infiltrated Pablo Escobar’s cartel and even been to the year 3000 – though sadly they still live above water. We even sent Danny Dyer back to the big bang. There’s a lot of history for us still to explore, and I can’t ruddy wait.” Tan Parsons adds: “I’ve always wanted to travel through time and now I can. Thank you, PastMaster.” Plus, out now, a new PastMaster Mini-Series for people to enjoy while they wait for the Christmas special. It’s a four-episode drop of PastMaster’s most unpredictable adventures yet. Al Clayton Goes to the Future -- Special guest Al Clayton hurtles to the year 3000 where he faces a world on the brink of losing all its creative works. Our reluctant time-traveler—who openly hates AI—must confront his fears with help from (who else?) Charlie from Busted. What begins as a comedy spirals into a surprisingly thoughtful look at AI, creativity, and the future we’re hurtling toward. Coming up in 2026… In 2026 PastMaster is moving to an ‘always on’ production schedule with core episodes every fortnight, peppered with ‘side quest’ mini episodes now, and then exploring daft subplots and attempts to break the game. There is already a roster of brilliant comedians lined up including the likes of Sunil Patel, Heidi Regan, Esther Manito, and Ashley Haden. And they’ll be leaning into the parts of the world they have yet to explore, including the history of China, the lost American colony of Roanoke, the Indian subcontinent, and the race to plant a flag at the South Pole. The Christmas episode will be released on the 22nd of December here: https://open.spotify.com/show/1vbSTKvzKlgrxayl8yh7nt?si=712b4d4baaab405c