Moonburn Season Three Premieres: Exploring Themes Of Chosen Family, Identity, and Belonging

 Created by Robbie Hyne (DC's Stargirl, Haunted: The Van Buren Manor, (Un)Likeminded), the serialized queer YA audio drama Moonburn follows Lucas, an eighteen-year-old searching for a fresh start in New York City. Guided by a collection of old diary cassette tapes left behind by former residents, Lucas navigates friendship, love, heartbreak, and the messy process of discovering who he wants to become. 

Season Three finds Lucas at a crossroads. As construction forces major changes at the boarding home he’s come to call home, Lucas struggles to balance the expectations he's placed on himself with the reality of moving forward. Alongside his chosen family, he must confront uncertainty, embrace change, and discover that growth rarely arrives on a perfect timeline… or without complications.

Blending heartfelt drama, romance, humor, and mystery, MOONBURN explores themes of chosen family, identity, and belonging through an authentically queer lens. The series has been described by listeners as "one of the best podcast stories I've heard" and "a must listen." 

Robbie Hyne has released Moonburn under his banner August Year Round Productions. The company's motto is "Words Unleashed."

Season Three features returning cast members Anthony Keyvan (XO, Kitty; Love, Victor), Kevin McHale (Glee), Alexandra Daniels (What If...?), Teala Dunn (Good Trouble), Anthony Turpel (Love, Victor; That '90s Show), and Kelly Lamor Wilson (A Man Called Otto), alongside new additions Charlie Besso (Fallout), Briggon Snow (The Bright Sessions), and Jordan Doww (The Way Home).

Since launching in 2024, August Year Round has released multiple fiction podcasts including the sci-fi short story anthology (Un)Likeminded, the supernatural satire Haunted: The Van Buren Manor, and Moonburn, the company's flagship coming-of-age series.

Moonburn was the winner of Hollyshorts Film Festival’s Best Podcast 2025.

With June being Gay Pride Month, and Moonburn being an example of superb LGBTQ audio drama, let me share a caveat from the Book Riot Podcast/Newsletter.

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"Five years of unrelenting censorship has brought queer books and the authors to a breaking point. Authors, agents, publishers: every part of the industry is seeing the strain. Agents are reporting that for the first time in a decade, publishers are explicitly telling them that they’re avoiding acquiring LGBTQ books because they’re difficult to place in stores. Small publishers focusing on diverse books have seen their sales to libraries and schools drop by 50%. Queer authors are seeing royalties drop by 70% and their titles go out of print after 10+ years of success. LGBTQ book deal announcements have declined, and publishers are using coded language to hide queer representation."

 Here are 60+ small tasks you can do to defend the freedom to read.