OUR RATING:
The Diner at the End of Everything
Oh great, just what we needed, another quirky sci-fi audio drama about misfits who find each other and blah blah blah. Except “Midnight Burger” somehow manages to be the exception to the rule, like a frozen yogurt place that tastes better than ice cream (yes, it’s possible). This podcast about a greasy spoon diner that travels through dimensions is annoyingly good, despite sounding like something a stoned philosophy major would pitch at 3 AM.
The premise is absurd enough: Gloria, a down-on-her-luck woman, stumbles into an all-night diner that happens to exist outside of conventional space-time. Naturally. Because that’s totally a thing that happens when you’re looking for a late-night snack. The diner’s staff includes Medea, the no-nonsense cook who’s seen it all (literally, across multiple universes), and Cassius, the overly cheerful waiter who’s probably hiding something tragic behind that customer service smile. Oh, and don’t forget the scientist who might as well have “exposition” tattooed on his forehead.
You’d think with dimensional travel being the main gimmick, they’d just throw the characters into increasingly bizarre scenarios and call it a day. “Look, they’re in a dimension where everyone’s made of cheese! Hilarious!” But no, the show has the audacity to actually develop its characters and give them meaningful arcs. How inconsiderate to listeners who just wanted mindless entertainment.
The dialogue is fiendishly clever, with philosophical musings that don’t make you want to throw your headphones across the room. It’s a cross between Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett who birthed a baby who then went on to be raised by Neil Gaiman and Ursula K. Le Guin. Then that baby baby grew up to write a podcast about a magic diner. Exhausting.
What’s even more surprising is how the show handles its big themes, identity, belonging, purpose, the meaning of existence, with a deftness that catches you off guard. Don’t be too surprised if you catch yourself laughing at some dimensional mishap involving an extra batch of fries, and the next moment you’re contemplating your place in the universe. How dare they sneak existential crises into my comedy podcast!
The characters’ chemistry is stubbornly natural. Gloria’s cynicism, Cassius’s enthusiasm, and Medea’s cryptic wisdom all bounce off each other in ways that might have you thinking these characters are your friends rather than fictional constructs. It’s almost as if writers actually understand how human beings talk to each other. Show-offs.
Perhaps most offensive of all is how the podcast balances its cosmic scale with intimate, personal stories. Sure, the diner might jump to a dimension where time runs backward or where consciousness is collective, but the show never loses sight of the small, human moments that matter. The writers know that all the multiverse shenanigans in the world don’t mean anything without characters you care about. The nerve.
“Midnight Burger” is a podcast that will trick you into thinking deeply while you’re expecting to just be entertained. So go ahead and listen, if you want to be both amused and emotionally ambushed by a show about a diner that travels through dimensions. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you when you feel your deep-down-insides emoting enough to produce a tear or two.
Where to listen to Midnight Burger
Episodes.fm | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Overcast | Pocket Casts | Castro
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